Nomura Holdings, Japan's biggest brokerage, recorded a 76% fall in quarterly net profit in Q1 2018 due to weakened investment banking business. The fall joined Wall Street investment banks that also recorded a slump in dealmaking fees, as global mergers and acquisitions activity shrunk to the lowest levels recorded in over a decade. Concerns over a global banking crisis have weighed on investors, causing them to revaluate volatile markets. The wholesale division of Nomura sustained its second consecutive quarterly loss of ¥14.2bn ($106m) pre-tax, which has cast doubts over CEO Kentaro Okuda's midterm plan to raise core pre-tax profit by up to 90%.
