FX volumes executed by Japanese banks have shown a marked improvement in recent years. The biggest improvers in market share in Euromoney’s FX survey this year were Nomura and Mizuho Financial Group, registering increases of 97% and 68% respectively. That saw Nomura rise four places to 14th and Mizuho rise 11 places to 23rd. This rapid improvement is due to one dominant factor: doing more business with real money clients.
Nomura and Mizuho were the stand-outs, but this is the trend across all the nation’s banks, Euromoney market data shows. Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) boosted its share of the worldwide real money wallet, improving its standing from 26th to 14th in the global rankings, while Sumitomo Mitsui jumped from 46th place to 21st. That helped BTMU break into the top 20 FX banks for the first time, with its total volume rising above the $1 trillion mark.
Nomura’s outperformance reflects two things: its broader global expansion and the worldwide rollout of its electronic execution platform, which has enabled it to take on more real money customers than its rivals. It registered its real money gains in Western Europe, where it rose from 36th place in 2010 to 10th place this year.