Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, the Japan-based lender, is considering to launch an investment banking unit in Japan by hiring the services of Nikko Citigroup bankers Masuo Fukuda and Taro Hayashi – reported Bloomberg.
Sumitomo has said in an e-mailed statement that both would join Sumitomo Mitsui’s Nikko Cordial Securities on October 1, 2009. By beefing up investment banking operations, Sumitomo wants to withstand the tough competition from bigger rivals like Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, which intends to merge its securities division with Morgan Stanley’s local business.
Makoto Haga, chief strategist at Tokyo-based securities firm Monex Group, said: Competition has been intensifying in Japan. Sumitomo Mitsui needs a full-fledged banking operation to compete with Mitsubishi UFJ and other rivals, reported the Daily Mail.
