TOKYO, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Nomura Holdings will not be designated a systemically important financial institution under new global regulations, the chief executive of Japan's largest broker said on Monday, according to a company spokesman.
Avoiding the designation as systemically important, or a SIFI, would allow Nomura to avoid meeting the strictest capital requirements being mulled by the Basel III committee, thereby lowering the chance it would have to issue new shares.
Kenichi Watanabe, speaking at a conference for corporate executives organized by his company in Tokyo, said he didn't think Nomura would be deemed a SIFI because it didn't invest money from bank deposits and ranked around 80th among global financial institutions in terms of assets, according to two analysts and one investor who attended the event.
Nomura spokesman Tohru Namikawa confirmed that Watanabe told the gathering the broker wouldn't be tagged as systemically important, but declined to comment further.
The Basel group of central bankers and regulators, which in September approved new capital requirement rules from 2013 aimed at bolstering the global financial system, have yet to draw up lists of banks judged "too big to fail"..
Those that are may be forced to adhere to a capital requirement surcharge of 2 to 3 percent in adition to holding top-quality capital totaling 7 percent of their risk-bearing assets, more than triple the level required now.
That could force some firms to raise new capital in order to meet the stricter regulation.
(Reporting by Emi Emoto; writing by Tim Kelly. Editing by Nathan Layne)