Reuters: Regulatory News: UPDATE 1-Nomura replaces sales head amid insider probe

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UPDATE 1-Nomura replaces sales head amid insider probe Jun 1st 2012, 14:49 Fri Jun 1, 2012 10:49am EDT * Kenichi Ishitomi steps down to help investigation-source * Nomura under escalating scrutiny from regulators By Emi Emoto and Nathan Layne TOKYO, June 1 (Reuters) - Nomura Holdings has replaced the head of institutional sales at its core securities unit, following an escalating investigation by regulators into its suspected role in insider trading. A source with knowledge of the matter said Kenichi Ishitomi had been asked to relinquish his post to focus on cooperating with the probe by the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC). Nomura said in a statement that Naoki Matsuba, senior managing director of the equity department, would double as head of the institutional sales division. Nomura has come under increased pressure from the SESC, which has been investigating brokers since 2010 as part of an industry-wide probe aimed at cracking down on insider trading. The SESC intensified its probe into Nomura in late April, sending officials to the bank's offices in Tokyo to investigate regulator's suspicions that it had tipped off clients on a number of deals. Regulators made the move after failing to obtain information they were seeking in an earlier phase of the investigation, sources have said. Earlier this week Nomura was linked to its second insider trading case in two months. In both cases sources say employees of the broker tipped off a fund management client about share offerings it was underwriting before they were made public. After the second case became public, Nomura said it had appointed a panel of outside lawyers to conduct an investigation of its own. Nomura said it would use the review to decide how to improve operations and whether any of its staff would be disciplined. The brokerage also said it was also cooperating with the SESC. Ishitomi became head of institutional sales in July 2011 and was in the same department when the two share offerings Nomura has been linked to -- Mizuho Financial Group and Inpex -- took place. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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