SMBC Nikko CEO Says He’s Taking Trading Probe ‘Seriously’

(Bloomberg) -- SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. Chief Executive Officer Yuichiro Kondo said he’s taking “seriously” a probe into company employees by Japan’s securities regulator.

Speaking at an online New Year’s event held by the Japan Securities Dealers Association, Kondo said that being suspected of unfair trading is “a problem in itself,” but declined to comment further as the investigation is ongoing.

SMBC Nikko is being investigated by Japan’s Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission over “block offerings” that its employees made after trading hours in 2020, local media reported last year. The brokerage has said only that it’s cooperating with the probe and is unable to comment further.

The brokerage has missed out on at least $3.5 billion of bond underwriting deals since the report. SMBC Nikko is a unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Japan’s second-largest banking group. 

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