Nomura Blames Biggest-Ever Loss on ‘Incompetent' Bond Trader

Giovanni Lombardo, who is suing the bank for unfair dismissal, "did nothing" to prevent losses resulting from the 2015 demise of his client Invexstar Capital Management Ltd., Mike Ward, Nomura's head of equity sales, said in a statement submitted Friday to the court. Lombardo, who will probably give evidence next week, will claim it was not his responsibility to monitor his client's trades, according to Ward's statement.

... The case is part of the fallout from the demise of Invexstar, an obscure bond-trading firm that inflicted losses of around 120 million pounds on some of the world's biggest banks when it failed in 2015 after about a year's trading. The collapse -- and the track record of the company's manager and sole employee, Alberto Statti -- raised questions over how lenders manage their risks.