[ by Melanie Gretchen and Howard Haykin ]

Nomura, the largest Japanese brokerage firm bank, is expanding its presence in America, with the addition of several senior bankers to its investment bank.  To date, the bank doubled its staff between March of 2008 and March of this year, to about 2,300 people, most of whom have been bankers and traders.  The investment has paid off: the Americas contributed 29% of overall revenue from banking and trading, up from 22% in the 2010 fiscal year.

Joining the firm are, the following:

• Stephen Roti - from Barclays - will head Nomura equity capital markets in the Americas.
• Christopher Baldwin - from BofA ML - will manage an IB team focused on real estate, gambling and hotel companies.
• Anthony Viscardi - from Deutsche Bank - will focus on residential mortgage industry.
• Timothy Wilding - from Oppenheimer - will advise chemical companies.
• Daniel Rodrigues - from UBS - and Arthur Rubin - a longtime banker - will both focus on Latin American and South American banking assignments.

James DeNaut, Nomura’s head of Americas investment banking, had this to say about the moves:  "Nomura is committed to increasing its investment banking capabilities in the Americas, with targeted hiring and the thoughtful growth of its product offering, in order to deliver the power of the firm’s global franchise to its clients.  We continue to look for talented individuals to drive the strategic expansion of our operation."

[Dealbook, 6/10/13]