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One of the key sources of new talent in Nomura’s hiring drive was BNP Paribas Wealth Management, which saw an exodus of non-resident Indian (NRI) alongside Southeast Asia bankers.

They include Brajesh Jha (group head, Southeast Asia), Mohita Gupta (team lead, Southeast Asia NRI), Charly Madan (team lead, Southeast Asia), Nini Rojanavanich (Thailand and Vietnam relationship manager) and Umesh Pandey (Thailand and Vietnam relationship manager).

Concurrently, French bank exited the Indian onshore wealth management market after a «strategic review» in mid-2020, ridding it of the capability to be a one-stop shop for the globally oriented client segment.

Citi Private Bank: Alumni Recruitment 

Opportunism aside, Raju has naturally tapped into his private banking network built over nearly three decades including at Citi where he spent 15 years, with six in its global wealth unit.

Former Citi private bankers lured include Wayne Yang (group head, Greater China), Trevor Mak (Hong Kong relationship manager) and Adil Khan (group head, Southeast Asia for NRI market). 

Deutsche Bank: Products and Solution Reunion

Nomura has also attracted talent from Deutsche Bank, where Raju previously oversaw its Asia wealth unit for nearly a decade, most notably hiring for investment and product-related roles.

Akshay Prasad has been named as the regional head of the investment products & advisory solutions unit and he is joined by fellow former Deutsche Bank executives Sooraj Arur, APAC head of lending & credit solutions, and Aditya Sehgal.

Locked and Loaded

This is not the first time Nomura has attempted to make a wealth management push outside of Japan in Asia. In early 2015, it hired ex-Morgan Stanley banker Amanda Chen to become deputy chief only to exit less than two years later. Her role was not officially replaced after ex-chief investment officer Johnny Heng was named head of relationship management for the unit in late 2016. 

But the difference this time is that Nomura has made public its specific ambitions in private banking for the ultra-wealthy and aligned organizationally at the top to reflect this commitment, integrating the international wealth business with wholesale banking. According to Raju in a recent statement, the latest hires by the Japanese lender are an acknowledgment that «we are serious about our ambitions to build a leading wealth management business». 

Following the latest hire of 20 relationship managers, the Japanese private bank will look to hire similar numbers in each of the next two to three years.