Message from the Group CEO

Rebuilding trust

In August 2012, Nomura Securities Co., Ltd., a core Nomura Group company in Japan, was subject to a business improvement order by Japan's Financial Services Agency. We take this matter very seriously and deeply regret the trouble caused. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to all of our stakeholders.

We are currently enhancing our internal controls across the entire group. We are conducting training sessions for executives and employees and implementing a series of improvement measures to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

To monitor progress, Nomura Securities has established an Improvement Measures Implementation Committee, which is under my direct control and includes our Internal Control Supervisory Manager and relevant executive officers and department heads.

A new Nomura

As we work to rebuild trust, Nomura is committed to realizing the social mission of the securities business of contributing to economic growth and sustainable social development. I intend to create a new Nomura by reaffirming our responsibility to society as a leading company in the capital markets and by encouraging a change in the mindset of all Nomura people through revising our organizational structure, including our personnel systems.

Meeting the needs of our clients and society

The global economy currently faces significant challenges that are leading to transformational changes in society. In order to remain a trusted partner to our clients and a responsible corporate citizen, we must tailor our services to the increasingly diverse and sophisticated needs of our clients and adjust to the ongoing changes in the communities where we live and work. In other words, we have to ensure we are fit for the future by changing ourselves to adapt to social change and our clients' needs. We aim to deliver high value-added financial services by placing our clients at the heart of everything we do.

Asia's global investment bank

Nomura remains committed to being Asia's global investment bank. We are closely analyzing the current market environment, including the economic situation in Europe and the global shift to tighter regulations. We will allocate management resources to areas where we can leverage our strengths.

Asia is poised to drive the global economy over the coming years and we believe Nomura is well placed to play a leading role in the region's growth. As such, we will further develop our global business model centering on our home market of Asia including Japan. We have set a medium-term target of achieving earnings per share of ¥50 by the end of March 2016. In terms of pretax income, that translates to around ¥250 billion, which we expect to be made up of ¥125 billion from Wholesale, ¥100 billion from Retail, and ¥25 billion from Asset Management.

In Wholesale, we will leverage our global platform and focus on cross-border businesses that connect Asia with Europe and the Americas. Our highest priority in Retail is to listen closely to our clients and provide consulting based services to meet their individual needs. Asset Management aims to establish itself as a distinct Asian asset manager by offering clients a diverse range of investment opportunities. These initiatives will increase the ability of both Retail and Asset Management to provide the firm with a stable earnings base.

Nomura Report

This year we have combined the financial information from our annual report and the corporate social responsibility and environmental, social, and corporate governance initiatives outlined in our citizenship report into a single report. With this new Nomura Report we hope to provide all of our stakeholders with a detailed view of the direction we are moving in as we navigate the changing environment to take the firm the next level.

To further integrate our business activities and corporate citizenship initiatives, I have taken over as chairman of the firm's CSR Committee. Nomura is committed to contributing to sustainable development through our core business and corporate activities in order to make the world a better place for future generations.

We will focus everything we do on our clients, transforming Nomura into a corporate citizen that works closely with the communities in which we operate and listens intently to our clients and other stakeholders.