NOMURA SUSPENDS EXECS AFTER ARCHEGOS FIASCO

Nomura Holdings Inc. suspended a group of senior executives at its investment bank and replaced a top risk official as it reels from billions of dollars of losses on trades with Archegos Capital Management, Donal Griffi, Cathy Chan and Bei Hu reported for Bloomberg News.

Dougal Brech, global head of the prime brokerage division that caters to hedge funds, has been suspended along with US prime head Joshua Kurek and co-head of global equities Michael Caperonis, people familiar with the matter said.

Douglas Lyons, global head of credit risk, will stay at the Tokyo-based firm but will be replaced by Patrick McGarry, said the people, who requested anonymity as the details aren’t public.

Nomura is among several global banks shaken by transactions with Archegos, an obscure investment firm set up to manage the fortune of trader Bill Hwang.

Japan’s biggest brokerage, which lost some $2.9 billion on its dealings with Archegos, has hired external lawyers to conduct a “comprehensive, impartial review,” according to a presentation to investors Tuesday, and appointed a new head of its US subsidiary earlier this week. The Financial Times reported Brech’s suspension earlier.

Nomura’s losses from trades with Archegos exceed the $2 billion it flagged a month ago and have complicated its global ambitions. The bank logged a fourth-quarter net loss of 155.4 billion yen ($1.4 billion), its biggest since the global financial crisis, Sridhar Natarajan also reported for Bloomberg News.

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