After a former wealth advisor was arrested amid allegations of robbery and attempted murder involving a client, Nomura Securities Co. Ltd. is adopting added controls for client meetings, and executives are taking pay cuts.
Last month, a former Nomura Securities employee was arrested and charged by Hiroshima Prefecture police on suspicion of robbery, attempted murder and arson.
In a statement issued today, the firm said that the employee — who joined as a new graduate in April 2018, and provided asset management advice to individual and corporate clients — told his branch manager that he was suspected of arson in relation to a fire at a client’s home in July, and that he had stolen money from the clients.
“We take this matter very seriously. An incident like this must never happen at a financial institution entrusted with looking after its clients’ assets,” the firm said.
In response to the episode, and in an effort to regain clients’ trust, the firm announced that it has introduced new internal rules requiring pre-approval of wealth management employee visits to clients’ homes, and it adopted a policy, “for the foreseeable future,” that requires managers to accompany employees when they visit clients’ homes or speak to clients over the phone.
“In addition to requiring prior approval for each visit, by having managers speak to clients directly, we want to ensure that our clients feel at ease when employees visit their homes,” it said.
It also said that it’s tightening the rules around the monitoring of employee movements, “to ensure more robust and effective oversight,” along with stricter compliance controls and training.
Additionally, numerous executives and directors, including the firm’s president, the head of wealth management and several senior managing directors, are voluntarily taking a 30% pay cut for three months, in response to the incident.