Nomura, Barclays lure bankers as rivals cap bonuses

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: Barclays Plc and Nomura Holdings Inc, which never ranked among the top 10 merger advisers worldwide in the past decade, are luring hundreds of bankers as competitors cut jobs and cap bonuses under government pressure.

The banks are expanding globally after they bought parts of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc out of bankruptcy last year. Barclays, which acquired Lehman’s US unit, plans to hire more than 30 bankers in Europe for its mergers advisory business and has hired about 750 people for European and Asian equities this year. Nomura, which bought Lehman’s European arm, has increased its US workforce by about 36% since March and this week hired former Goldman Sachs Group Inc currency strategist Jens Nordvig, 35.

Nomura, based in Tokyo, and London-based Barclays bought Lehman to compete with the global reach of firms such as Citigroup Inc and Morgan Stanley. The two, which avoided taking government bailouts, are finding bankers willing to join them after the industry cut 3,37,500 jobs worldwide and governments move to limit cash bonuses at lenders that got aid. “Banks that haven’t been bailed out by the government are in a very good position to hire the most talented bankers,” said Shaun Springer, chief executive officer of Square Mile Services Ltd, which advises London financial firms on pay.