Japanese securities house Nomura is to overhaul its electronic trading business across the globe, shuttering its Instinet subsidiary in Tokyo and shifting its US desks to the agency brokerage's technology platform in New York.
The effort to integrate Instinet's operations with Nomura's equity trading business comes as the company comes to terms with a combination of weak volumes and the legacy of an aggressive buying spree that saw it swallow up first Instinet and then Lehman Brother's European trading operations following the collapse of the defunct investment bank in 1988.
Last week Nomura oversaw the departure of Anthony Abenante, New York-based co-chief executive of Instinet, and the closure of Asian dark pool Chi-East, a joint venture between Instinet subsidiary Chi-X Global and the Singapore Exchange.
The next stage in the upheaval will see the Japanese securities house adopt Instinet's technology in New York, and close down the agency brokerage's operations in Japan. The fate of the European arm of Instinet has yet to be decided.
In a brief statement, Nomura says it is "fully committed to Instinet and its agency trading model, and is working toward a goal of Instinet becoming the Nomura Group's electronic trading arm."