The boss of the Japanese bank Nomura has apologised and taken a voluntary pay cut after a former employee was charged with robbery and attempted murder of a customer.
Kentaro Okuda, who has led Nomura since 2020, will take a 30% pay cut over the next three months, with several other senior managers at the bank taking similar reductions, the bank said.
The decision comes after one of the bank’s former wealth management employees was charged with attempted murder, robbery and arson. The employee allegedly drugged an elderly customer and their spouse in Hiroshima, before stealing cash and setting the house on fire. The employee, who is 29 and worked in its securities arm, was dismissed in August.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Okuda and three other executives bowed in unison. Okuda said: “We would like to deeply apologise to the victims as well as many other people involved for the great inconvenience and concerns caused. We are truly sorry.”
Nomura is Japan’s largest investment bank with 26,000 employees worldwide, with offices in Tokyo, London and New York.
The bank has recently moved to expand its wealth management business to diversify operations amid a volatile trading environment. Staff activities in the division include visiting customers in their homes to advise existing customers.
The company has now promised to change how it operates after the incident, including early detection of misconduct by employees, and strengthening supervision and approval of visits to clients’ homes.
“For the foreseeable future, a manager will accompany employees when they visit clients’ homes or speak to clients over the phone around the time of each visit,” the bank said.
The company will also update recruitment processes, while providing ethics training to staff.
According to the bank, the former employee joined Nomura Securities as a new graduate in April 2018, and from April 2022 provided asset management advice to individual and corporate clients at the Hiroshima branch office.
Nomura has said it has fully cooperated with the police investigation.
The Financial Times reported that sources familiar with the matter said there had been very limited account closures after the incident was made public.
It is the second time Okuda has voluntarily taken a pay cut in recent weeks. He promised to return 20% of his pay for two months after the bank was fined by Japan’s financial regulator for manipulation of government bond futures.
However, the business has still reported strong trading, with a profit of ¥98.4bn (£518m) between July and September, more than double the same period last year.
The two scandals have barely dented the company’s share price , and its stock is trading 54% higher than 12 months ago. The gain has largely been driven by a strong performance in its investment banking and wealth management arms.
