Nomura accelerates its expansion in Asia, vying to increase its assets under management by five-fold by March 2026 by doubling the number of relationship managers.
The Japanese private bank currently has 57 relationship managers and aims to boost this to 100 in three years. It is also setting a $50 billion AUM target by March 2026, according to a «Bloomberg» report citing its senior managing director for Asia ex-Japan wealth business Yuji Hibino. The bank’s current AUM in the region is about $10 billion.
The Japanese private bank has already added ten to its relationship manager headcount in Hong Kong and Singapore last year and Hibino said that it would be open to acquisitions, though it currently isn’t in any discussions.
Better Growth
According to Hibino, Nomura is seeking more opportunities in Asia due to better relative future growth compared to Japan and its brokerage arm is also supporting Japanese clients living abroad. Meanwhile, it can leverage its «great network» to connect Asian clients to opportunities in Japan.
And although undiscussed, there are potential synergies that could be realized from Nomura’s concurrent expansion in China’s onshore market where its investment banking venture will expand headcount five-fold from 100 to 500 by 2023. Hibino’s mandate does not cover Nomura’s domestic joint venture in China.
Hong Kong BAU
And on Hong Kong, Nomura echoes industry peers with regards to the effects of the ongoing political unrest to the city’s future status as a major financial hub.
«I believe that Hong Kong will remain one of the very important hubs for the financial industry in the future,» Hibino said, adding that the firm’s business has not experienced material change. «We don’t have any alternative plans due to the Hong Kong protests.»
Nomura joins Morgan Stanley as Asia’s bullish private banks with plans for expansion in 2020. The American lender said it would add up to 35 private bankers in Hong Kong and Singapore this year.
