Nomura Holdings CEO, Kentaro Okuda, publicly apologized for an employee’s alleged manipulation of the bond futures market. The investigative arm of the financial regulator recommended a fine against Nomura for manipulating Japanese government bond futures prices in 2021, leading to exclusion from underwriting deals by Toyota Finance and other firms.
At a Nikkei financial forum in Tokyo, Okuda expressed regret for the trouble caused by the incident. This comes at a crucial time as Nomura aims to take advantage of Japan’s resurging bond market following changes in monetary policy.
The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission advised a fine of ¥21.8 million ($152,000) against Nomura for a dealer profiting from large JGB futures orders without actual intention to trade. Nomura stated it is revising its trading operations and enhancing internal controls to prevent future issues.
Similar penalties have been imposed on securities firms like Citigroup and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group for JGB futures price manipulation. The FSA is expected to finalize the fine in the coming weeks.