Nomura Holdings Inc. has picked Frankfurt to be the headquarters of its European Union operations after the U.K. leaves the bloc, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Japan's biggest brokerage will start preparations this month to form a base in the German financial center, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is confidential. It will seek regulatory approval and find office space before transferring fewer than 100 employees from London to the city, according to the person.
Nomura, which had 3,026 employees in Europe as of March 31, had been considering cities including Munich, Luxembourg and Paris to secure business in the EU after the British exit. Frankfurt, home to the European Central Bank, has emerged as one of the favored Brexit options for global banks including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc.