Nomura Holdings has determined that it breached securities laws in its handling of nonpublic information about a company the firm took public last year and plans to report the issue to regulators, people with knowledge of the matter said.
An internal investigation found that a former branch manager in Kyushu mishandled private information that Wash House was considering a stock split, the people said. While Nomura hasn't uncovered evidence that employees broke insider trading rules, the firm concluded it violated a law governing the treatment of corporate information, they said.
Wash House shares jumped 80 percent from early February through March 10, when the company disclosed the split after the market close. The stock surged as much as 15 percent the trading day after the announcement. Nomura arranged Wash House's November initial public offering, a deal the former branch manager was involved in, according to the people.