Where does this leave Nomura?
Sadeq Sayeed, Nomura's chief executive in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, is unexpectedly leaving
At first glance, this doesn't appear to be particularly great news for the 800 people Nomura's hired in Europe since it acquired Lehman and Sayeed took charge.
Nor is it entirely clear why Sayeed's going now. Nomura is, after all, back in the black, has achieved its ambition of becoming the leading equities trader on the London Stock Exchange, and is doing rather well in UK equity research. It's also been spending heavily to build its European business.
Conspiracy theorists might point to the fact that when Sayeed was appointed in 2008, some people suggested he was being set up as a non-Japanese fall guy if the Lehman venture failed to deliver. Although equities is doing well, headhunters suggest Nomura's struggling to hire in fixed income due to its BBB rating.
The timing of Sayeed's departure could prove unfortunate, coming a few weeks before the second year of guarantees extended to Lehman staff are paid.
However, one senior Nomura insider says Sayeed's exit is really no big deal: "This won't be destabilising at all. It's not as if a lot of people hung their strategy on him in particular - the fundamental difference between Lehman and Nomura is that Lehman was a cut of personality led by a strong figure in ever region. At Nomura, the business is much more consensus driven."
