Nomura Holdings is cutting about 60 staff as the firm continues to seek ways to cut costs across its investment bank in response to the ongoing slump in dealmaking and capital markets activity.  

The cuts include about 30 people in the United States, according to people familiar with the matter. The majority of those staff impacted were in investment banking, the people said, who asked not be named discussing personnel. 

Several trading and sales staff in London as well as employees in Asian countries other than Japan have also left the firm, the people said. The cuts are not targeted at particular teams or levels of seniority, one of the people said.

“Nomura regularly reviews its headcount needs, taking into consideration market demand and business requirements globally,” a spokesperson for the bank said in an e-mailed statement. “Considering the current market environment and outlook, we are delivering efficiencies by reducing certain roles across our international wholesale business.”

Nomura employs 2,400 people in the Americas, while its business across Europe, the Middle East and Africa has about 2,900 staff, according to its website. Separately on Jan 31, Nomura posted third-quarter profit that met analysts’ expectations. 

The move comes after Nomura began cutting roughly 20 staff following a review of the firm’s markets and investment banking businesses last October.  

Central banks around the world have ratcheted up interest rates in recent quarters, stymieing merger and acquisition activity and hurting banks’ fees. Wall Street giants including Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley have been cutting jobs in response to the drop in revenue. 

Nomura has said it is aiming to cut an additional US$100 million (S$134 million) in costs across in its wholesale banking division, which includes investment banking and trading. Chief executive officer Kentaro Okuda is trying to revitalise the Japanese banking giant after profit fell in his first three years in office. BLOOMBERG