Nomura wants more Aussie bankers
After strengthening its investment banking team with the acquisition of the defunct Lehman Brothers' Asia franchise in 2009, Nomura is expanding its presence in Australia. That means more jobs for local bankers.
The Japanese firm signalled its intentions in November when it poached the experienced Peter Meurer from Citi to head its domestic banking operations. Then in January, Nomura secured an ASX licence to continue its Australian growth.
Nomura refused to comment on its hiring intentions for 2010, but it's common knowledge that the firm has been active in debt capital markets recently. It has also established an M&A advisory team, a financial and insurance group and a risk solutions division.
"They have a team of around 25 individuals across products and industries and the expectation is they will recruit half that number again over the next 18 months or so," says Victoria Biggs, a co-founding partner of Platinum Pacific Partners.
Another recruiter, who asked not to be named, says his firm is also helping Nomura with infrastructure and support jobs.
As for the fate of former Lehman staff in Australia, Biggs says some were kept, while others were moved on by Nomura.
"Lehman had only existed in Australia for 18 months after it acquired Grange, which was a small credit-focussed broker. Lehman built the team in equities and investment banking, but not in large numbers," she adds.
