French bank Natixis grabbed two top executives from major Wall Street firms for its Japanese expansion plans. Makoto Kawamura left JPMorgan Chase where he ran their Japan treasury operations and joined Natixis as their new Japan treasury chief. Hideaki Sugahara moved over from Societe Generale where he worked as a director and became their corporate coverage head. The Paris-based lender wants to double its Tokyo banking staff from 68 people over the next five to seven years. Bruno Le Saint who leads their Asia Pacific banking division says Japan offers huge growth opportunities.
The company launched a fresh banking branch Tuesday after getting proper banking permits from Japanese regulators. For three years Natixis operated under limited money-lending rules that restricted their services. The new license lets them offer a much wider range of financial products to Japanese companies. Le Saint explained that global private equity firms and infrastructure funds want trusted partners when they enter Japanese markets.
Both new hires bring serious experience to the Japanese operation. Kawamura spent 30 years working across foreign exchange trading, derivatives and corporate finance deals. Sugahara managed corporate relationships for more than 20 years and worked at Societe Generale for over a decade. The French bank already employs 90 people at its separate securities business and hired five other staff members for Japan last February.
The company launched a fresh banking branch Tuesday after getting proper banking permits from Japanese regulators. For three years Natixis operated under limited money-lending rules that restricted their services. The new license lets them offer a much wider range of financial products to Japanese companies. Le Saint explained that global private equity firms and infrastructure funds want trusted partners when they enter Japanese markets.
Both new hires bring serious experience to the Japanese operation. Kawamura spent 30 years working across foreign exchange trading, derivatives and corporate finance deals. Sugahara managed corporate relationships for more than 20 years and worked at Societe Generale for over a decade. The French bank already employs 90 people at its separate securities business and hired five other staff members for Japan last February.
