Nomura hires Peter Meurer to head Australia investment banking

Tokyo-based Nomura announced yesterday that it has appointed Peter Meurer as chairman of investment banking in Australia, demonstrating the continued build-out of its Australian business.

Meurer was previously the vice-chairman of Citi Australia, where he was instrumental in advancing both the investment banking and equities platforms; in particular, the establishment of the Citi Australian and New Zealand equities conference held annually in London. At Nomura, Meurer will help lead and advise an investment banking team that was recently strengthened with multiple senior hires, including Ian Maxton, a former vice-chairman from Deutsche Bank.

"Australia continues to be one of the most important growth opportunities for us. Nomura in Asia considerably strengthened its investment banking team last year with the acquisition of Lehman Brothers' Asia franchise," said Glenn Schiffman, head of investment banking for Nomura Asia ex-Japan. "The appointment of [Meurer], one of Australia's most seasoned and respected bankers, will solidify our efforts to fully capitalise on the opportunities in this market and help to build and strengthen new and existing client relationships."

Meurer's appointment comes shortly after Nomura established a dedicated M&A, FIG (financial institutions group) and risk solutions team to complement the existing Australian banking team.

Meurer has more than 30 years of experience in the investment banking and stockbroking industries and has been involved in numerous initial public offerings for companies like Qantas, Woolworths, Tabcorp and Just Group. He has also been instrumental in debt capital markets fundraisings and as a strategic advisor for landmark transactions with clients including Coles Myer and Fairfax. Before joining Citi, he was vice-chairman and managing director for corporate broking at Merrill Lynch, and prior to that, vice-chairman of McIntosh/Baring Securities. Previously, he was a senior partner at Potter Partners and Potter Warburg.