Nomura to hire over 40 private bankers in Asia, Middle East - senior exec | Reuters

Nomura to hire over 40 private bankers in Asia, Middle East - senior exec | Reuters

Nomura Holdings (8604.T) plans to hire more than 40 private bankers in Asia and the Middle East in two years to tap an expanding pool of rich families and entrepreneurs in the regions, its international wealth management chief told Reuters.

Enhancing wealth management is part of Nomura's goal of increasing revenue less vulnerable to market swings, as Japan's top investment bank has had occasional major financial hits in its attempts to expand globally.

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

The business currently employs 91 private bankers in Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai to serve affluent clients in Greater China, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, he said.

Nomura has repositioned the business to be part of the wholesale division to provide high net-worth individuals with a broad range of investment products and services in everything from equity to structured products - similar to what it offers to institutional clients.