Japan's largest brokerage, Nomura Holdings, has been removed from several yen bond issuance roles after authorities discovered market violations. According to underwriters' announcements, companies such as Toyota Financial, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, and Okinawa Development Finance have removed Nomura from their bond issuance managers list.
Japanese securities regulators stated they have launched an investigation into Nomura for allegedly manipulating the government bond futures market and found violations.
As the Japanese stock market plummeted on Monday, the TOPIX index fell by as much as 3.8%, and Nomura's stock saw a decline of up to 7.9%.
This series of dismissals comes as the yen corporate bond primary market is reaching its peak. In the first half of the fiscal year starting in April, the issuance of these bonds exceeded 10 trillion yen ($70 billion), setting a historical high. The coming months are typically busy for primary market brokers.
Last week, Hokkaido Electric Power also removed Nomura from its yen bond managing underwriters list.
