SMBC Nikko Securities

The origins of SMBC Nikko Securities can be traced back to a company named Kawashimaya Shoten (川島屋商店) which was formed in July 1918 by Genichi Toyama. It was formed to buy and sell stocks and bonds. In 2007, the firm became a subsidiary of Citigroup after Citigroup purchased Nikko Cordial Corporation forming Nikko Citi Holdings Inc. In September 2009, Citigroup sold the firm to the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. In 2011, the firm changed its name from Nikko Cordial Securities to SMBC Nikko Securities. In 2016, the firm became a wholly owned direct subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group. In 2018, the firm merged with SMBC Friend Securities, while continuing to use the SMBC Nikko Securities trade name. ==Controversies==

2012 insider trading fine In April 2012, the Financial Services Agency fined the firm for leaking information about a stock offering which was considered insider trading. Directors of the firm passed on word of the offering to at least 21 sales branches without carrying out the proper internal procedures to control the information flow. The firm was suspected of using its proprietary trading desk to illegitimately maintain the price of stocks in block trades. The firm launched a complaint with financial regulators after a senior trader died following intensive questioning. The employees were Trevor Hill (Head of equity), Alexandre Avakiants (Deputy head of equity), Makoto Yamada (General manager of equity trading) and Shinichiro Okazaki (General manager of structured products). On 14 February 2023, a court ordered SMBC Nikko Securities to pay a fine of 700 million yen ($5.3 million) and an additional penalty of around 4.47 billion yen for manipulating stock prices. == References ==