Nomura Securities International has agreed to pay $35 million as part of a nonprosecution agreement with the U.S. federal government over residential mortgage-backed securities trading fraud dating back more than a decade.
Nomura, a U.S.-based broker-dealer subsidiary of Japanese financial services firm Nomura Holdings, will also pay almost $808,000 in restitution to victims of the scheme, the Connecticut District of the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement Tuesday. The firm previously paid more than $20 million to victims as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Nomura is pleased to have resolved the matter and grateful that the (Department of Justice) recognized the firm’s remediation and cooperation,” a representative for the bank said in an emailed statement. “The resolution will have no material financial impact as the agreed sanctions were recognized in prior periods.”
A government investigation found Nomura misrepresented “material facts” to “deceive and cheat its customers in trades,” according to the statement. In some instances, employees lied to the buyer about the seller’s asking price, or vice versa. In other cases, Nomura said bonds it held were being sold from a third party and charged an “extra, unearned commission” on the sale.
Nomura employees were active participants in the scheme, which took place from 2009 to 2013 and primarily from the company’s trading floor in New York City, according to the statement.