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Nomura CEO Kentaro Okuda to accept voluntary short-term pay cut
The boss of Japanese bank Nomura has agreed to a short-term pay cut after a former employee was charged with stealing from bank customers, attempted murder and arson.
The employee allegedly stole money from customers and set fire to their homes after visiting them on July 28 this year, the bank said in a statement.
The employee was fired a week later and arrested in October.
Nomura apologized to the alleged victims and said chief executive Kentaro Okuda would voluntarily return 30% of his salary for three months.
In addition, nine other directors and officers of Nomura will return 20 to 30% of their salaries for the same period.
“Our sincere sympathies”
The bank said the former employee told the Hiroshima branch manager on Aug. 2 that police suspected him of arson in connection with a fire at a customer's home and that he had stolen money to customers during his visit to their home.
He was fired by the bank on August 4 and Nomura said “strict disciplinary measures” had been taken against the executives involved.
After learning of the alleged theft, the bank said it immediately contacted the former employee's customers and “opened an investigation into other possible incidents.”
The employee provided wealth management advice to individual and business clients.
Police arrested him on October 30, and he was charged by the Hiroshima District Procuratorate on November 20.
“We would like to express our sincere sympathy and apologize to our customers who have suffered due to this incident. We also apologize to everyone affected by the problems it causes,” Nomura said in a statement Tuesday.
“We take this matter very seriously,” the statement added. “An incident like this should never occur at a financial institution responsible for managing its customers’ assets.”
The company said it had put in place “more rigorous and effective measures” to “ensure that our customers feel confident when using our services”.
These include managers who accompany employees when they visit customers' homes and accompany them when they speak on the phone.
Nomura said it would “strictly manage” customer visits and monitor employees using data from company cellphones and dashboard cameras.
It will also require employees to take a period of continuous leave each year to enable the bank to detect any “potential wrongdoing”.
Nomura is one of Japan's largest banks and operates in approximately 30 countries and regions.
It focuses on wealth management, investment management, global markets and investment banking.
