Just weeks after Nomura Holdings Inc. vowed to push ahead with its global ambitions, unswayed by deep losses from the implosion of Archegos Capital Management, the firm is pulling the plug on a chunk of its hedge fund business.
Japan’s biggest brokerage will stop offering cash prime-brokerage services in the United States and Europe, and has given some clients about six months to find a new provider, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing the private information. A spokesman for Nomura declined to comment.
The pullback comes after Nomura notched up some of the biggest losses from the implosion of the U.S. family office built by Bill Hwang, taking a $2.9 billion hit. While the impact on earnings from the prime-brokerage retreat may be muted, it adds to a list of stumbles for the firm as it takes on global risk to offset slower growth at home. It also comes as a blow to Chief Executive Officer Kentaro Okuda, a company lifer who took charge a year ago and once ran the North American business.