Nomura Holdings to Employ 40 Additional Private Bankers in Asia and Middle East

Nomura Holdings plans to hire more than 40 private bankers in Asia and the Middle East over the next two years to tap into the region's growing pool of wealthy families and entrepreneurs, according to its international wealth management chief.

Enhancing wealth management is part of Nomura's goal of making revenue less susceptible to market swings, as Japan's top investment bank has taken major financial hits in its global expansion.

"The plan for us is to grow to about 135 relationship managers in the next two years, which will help us double our business," said Ravi Raju, head of Nomura's wealth management business outside of Japan, in an interview.

According to him, the company currently employs 91 private bankers in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai to serve affluent clients in Greater China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

Nomura has repositioned the business as part of the wholesale division, offering high-net-worth individuals a wide range of investment products and services ranging from equity to structured products, similar to what it offers institutional clients.

Following a three-year business overhaul that doubled assets under management and created 1,200 new client accounts, the bank aims to increase assets under its international wealth management business to $35 billion from $15 billion by March 2025.

Revenue totalled about $100 million in the year to March. Asia Pacific and Middle East account for 37 per cent of the world's 21.7 million population of high net worth individuals, or those with investable assets of $1 million or more, according to Capgemini's 2023 wealth report.