Nomura Chief Resigns Over Insider Trading Scandal
In a resignation more reminiscent of Nomura’s scandal-plagued 1990s than the global investment bank it has sought to become, the firm’s chief executive and his top lieutenant resigned on Thursday over recent revelations that bank employees had abetted insider trading.
Kenichi Watanabe, the chief executive and architect of Nomura’s takeover of Lehman Brothers’ Asian and European operations, resigned to take responsibility for the scandal, together with Takumi Shibata, the chief operating officer.
They will be succeeded by Koji Nagai, who leads Nomura’s securities unit, and Atsushi Yoshikawa, chief of Nomura’s operations in the United States, the company announced. The management changes were approved by Nomura’s board early Thursday.
“I resign,” Mr. Watanabe said, offering no apology in his opening remarks at a news conference in Tokyo. He said he had started the promised effort to bolster Nomura’s internal controls while continuing to investigate insider trading at the firm.
“Now it is time for a new era with new people,” he added.
Mr. Nagai promised to regain investor trust in the bank. “I intend to reform the company mind-set,” he said.
The resignations are a fresh blow for a brokerage firm that has struggled since snapping up Lehman’s international operations four years ago.