 | |
 Headquarters at the Shin-Marunouchi Building | |
Native name | SMBC日興証券株式会社 |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | June 15, 2009 |
| Founder | Genichi Toyama |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Yasuyuki Kawasaki (Chairman) Yuichiro Kondo (President & CEO) |
| Services | Securities brokerage Investment banking |
| Owner | Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (100%) |
Number of employees | 9,355 (31 December 2021) |
| Parent | Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group |
| Website | www |
SMBC Nikko Securities (SMBC日興証券株式会社) is a securities firm in Japan which engages in the operation of large-scale comprehensive securities broking and trading services. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.[1] It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group. In Japan, its the third largest securities brokerage firm.[2]
The origins of SMBC Nikko Securities can be traced back to a company named Kawashimaya Shoten (川島屋商店) which was formed in July 1918 by Genichi Toyama.[3] It was formed to buy and sell stocks and bonds.[3]
In 1920, the firm was incorporated into a stock company.[3]
During the same year, Nikko Securities was created out of the securities department of the Industrial Bank of Japan.[3]
In 1939, Kawashimaya Shoten spun off its securities division forming Kawashimaya Securities.[3] In 1943, Kawashimaya Securities absorbed Kawashimaya Shoten.[3]
In 1944, Kawashimaya Securities and Nikko Securities merged with the resulting company continuing to use the Nikko Securities trade name.[3]
In 2001, the firm changed its name from Nikko Securities to Nikko Cordial Securities.[4]
In 2007, the firm became a subsidiary of Citigroup after Citigroup purchased Nikko Cordial Corporation forming Nikko Citi Holdings Inc.[5][6]
On 15 June 2009, Nikko Cordial Securities De-merger Preparatory Company Ltd was formed.[1] This is considered the legal entity of the firm up to the present.In October 2009, Nikko Cordial Securities De-merger Preparatory Company Ltd took over all of the operations of the original Nikko Cordial Securities business and certain businesses of Nikko Citigroup. It was then renamed Nikko Cordial Securities.[4] Then Citigroup sold the firm to the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.[7]
In 2011, the firm changed its name from Nikko Cordial Securities to SMBC Nikko Securities.[4]
In 2016, the firm became a wholly owned direct subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.[4]
In 2018, the firm merged with SMBC Friend Securities while continuing to use the SMBC Nikko Securities trade name.[4]
In April 2012, the Financial Services Agency fined the firm for leaking information about a stock offering which was considered insider trading.[2][8] Directors of the firm passed on word of the offering to at least 21 sales branches without carrying out the proper internal procedures to control the information flow.[8] At eight of those branches a total of 23 sales staff tipped off 34 clients to purchase the shares once the deal was launched. The deal was said to be a roughly 1 trillion yen ($12.4 billion) offering by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Nikko's parent, in early 2010.[8]
In November 2021, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) launched an investigation into the firm over suspicious stock transactions.[9] The firm was suspected of using its proprietary trading desk to illegitimately maintain the price of stocks in block trades.[9][10] The firm launched a complaint with financial regulators after a senior trader died following intensive questioning.[10]
On 4 March 2022, four employees of the firm were arrested on allegations of market manipulation.[2][11] The employees were Trevor Hill (Head of equity), Alexandre Avakiants (Deputy head of equity), Makoto Yamada (General manager of equity trading) and Shinichiro Okazaki (General manager of structured products).[2][11] The firm's President & CEO, Yuichiro Kondo issued a public apology afterwards.[2][11]
On 23 March 2022, SESC called on prosecutors to extend allegations against the firm. If prosecutors accept the additional charges, three more staff from the firm could be indicted.[12]
