NMR

Nomura Holdings, Inc.

Nomura was incorporated in Japan on December 25, 1925 under the Commercial Code of Japan when the securities division of The Osaka Nomura Bank, Ltd. became a separate entity specializing in the trading and distribution of debt securities in Japan. Nomura was the first Japanese securities company to develop its business internationally with the opening in 1927 of a representative office in New York, which actively traded non-yen-denominated debt securities. In Japan, we broadened the scope of our business when we began trading in equity securities in 1938 and when we structured the first investment trust in Japan in 1941.

Since the end of World War II, we have played a leading role in most major developments in the Japanese securities market. These developments include the resumption of the investment trust business in the 1950s, the introduction of public stock offerings by Japanese companies in the 1960s, the development of the over-the-counter bond market in the 1970s, the introduction of new types of investment trusts such as the medium-term Japanese government bond investment trust in the 1980s, and the growth of the corporate bond and initial public offering markets in the 1990s.

Our expansion overseas accelerated in 1967, when Nomura acquired a controlling interest in Nomura International (Hong Kong) Limited for the purpose of conducting broker-dealer activities in the Hong Kong capital markets. Subsequently, we established a number of other overseas subsidiaries, including Nomura Securities International, Inc. in the United States in 1969 as a broker dealer and Nomura International Limited, now Nomura International plc, in the United Kingdom in 1981, which acts as an underwriter and a broker. We also established various other overseas affiliates, branches and representative offices. In recent years, we have sought to take advantage of new opportunities presented by the deregulation of the Japanese financial market and by the expansion of our investor base. To make the most of new opportunities, we aim to provide high value-added products and services that meet our customers’ needs.

We are one of the leading financial services groups in Japan and have worldwide operations. As of March 31, 2009, we operated offices in over 30 countries and regions including Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Hong Kong through our subsidiaries. Our customers include individuals, corporations, financial institutions, governments and governmental agencies.

Our business consists of the following five business segments:

•Retail—principally investment consultation services to retail customers;
•Global Markets—principally fixed income and equity trading and asset finance businesses;
•Investment Banking—principally M&A advisory and corporate financing businesses;
•Merchant Banking—principally private equity investments; and
•Asset Management—principally development and management of investment trusts, and investment advisory services.