Nomura sees pace of mergers picking up

The head of Nomura Holdings Inc, Japan's largest brokerage, said he expects more global acquisitions and consolidation among Japanese regional banks as the financial crisis takes its toll on economies around the world.

"Now Japan is done with the consolidation of major banks. I expect further consolidation will take place among regional banks," Nomura Chief Executive Kenichi Watanabe said yesterday.

In an effort to push into local banking, Nomura led a group of investors to buy Ashikaga Bank, a government-controlled lender, for $3 billion in March. Watanabe also said that the strong yen could encourage companies to seek more cross-border deals, adding to the record number of overseas acquisitions by Japanese firms this year.