Japan’s securities investigators yesterday urged a relatively light penalty on Nomura Securities and closed out a three-month investigation of the brokerage’s role in leaks of company share issuance plans dating back to 2010.
Reuters reported this week that the resignation of Nomura’s top two executives would clear the way for the Japanese Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (Sesc) to recommend a relatively light penalty.
The Sesc urged that Nomura be given a regulatory order to improve its compliance practices, the lightest penalty it could have sought. One expert said it represented a “slap on the wrist”.
The recommendation moves Japan’s largest brokerage closer to a resolution of a costly scandal that triggered the resignations of its chief executive, Kenichi Watanabe, and his top lieutenant, Takumi Shibata, last week.
In a statement, Nomura apologised and said it had taken steps to keep information collected by its underwriting operation from leaking to its trading desk and investors. “We take the Sesc’s recommendation seriously and will further enhance and reinforce our internal control structure to regain the trust of the public,” it said. – (Reuters)
