Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co. said Friday it will close five of its eight retail branches in Japan in late August as part of moves to streamline operations.
The five branches are in Sapporo, Sendai, Nagoya, Takamatsu and Kumamoto, the Japan unit of U.S. brokerage giant Merrill Lynch & Co. said.
The remaining three branches are in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka.
Merrill said the retail operations of its Sapporo, Sendai and Nagoya branches will be consolidated into the Tokyo head office. The retail operations of its Takamatsu branch will be integrated into the Osaka branch and those of the Kumamoto branch will go to the Fukuoka branch, it said.
The company said it will continue wholesale operations, or services for corporate clients, at the Nagoya branch.
A combined 50 employees at the five branches will be transferred to other sections, the company said.
In January, Merrill announced a plan to drastically reduce its retail brokerage business in Japan, closing 20 of its 28 branches and consolidating operations in the remaining eight.