Investment Banking

Nomura lost $2.9bn as Archegos fell. Law suit alleges warning signs were there

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Bill Hwang, founder of Archegos Capital, departs federal court in New York in 2022 Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

When Archegos Capital Management collapsed in early 2021, Nomura lost $2.9bn in trades it had put on for the hedge fund. The executive overseeing Nomura’s institutional brokerage business delivered a stern speech to his staff in September of that year.

“Internal discussions were not escalated in a timely manner, which could have prevented the incident,” lamented Steve Ashley, in a speech draft seen by fellow Dow Jones Group title Barron’s, “and most importantly, there was a lack of personal accountability and global teamwork.” It is unclear if Ashley used this language in his actual speech.

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