One of the last banks to announce bonuses just did: "Mine was quite bad"
It's bonus day at Nomura. The Japanese bank announces after everyone else and so has time to calibrate its payments based on generosity elsewhere. Accordingly, it has not been generous to everyone.
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Nomura isn't commenting but senior macro traders there do not appear happy with their numbers. "Mine was quite bad," claims one, speaking off the record. There's talk of downcast faces among the higher ranks. Across the board in EMEA, however, fixed income bonuses are understood to have been flat.
Juniors appear to be have been paid more than expected. "My bonus was beyond my expectations," says one junior trader. "It's all good."
The reflections are a small slice of Nomura reality. As at all banks, pay reflects performance and at Nomura this is often more so than at other banks. Senior traders paid down may have performed badly. Juniors paid up may have performed well.
However, Nomura has also hired heavily into its macro team in recent months, with multiple senior recruits in Singapore, and recruits in London. Some traders at the bank are suspicious that their own bonuses might have been diluted by guarantees.
As we reported last month, Nomura's equities traders had a strong 2026, particularly in Asia. Macro revenues were more mixed but were strong in FX and emerging markets. One equities trader there said bonuses are good after last year's fine performance.
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