It is an entirely natural conclusion to reach. Kenichi Watanabe, the chief executive of Nomura, has been forced to resign; the defining characteristic of his time in charge has been international expansion; that strategy has been beset by difficulties. Ergo, those global ambitions may die with Watanabe’s tenure. That analysis is, however, overly simplistic.

You can understand the logic though. Watanabe (along with his chief operating officer, Takumi Shibata, who also resigned) was the driving force behind the bank's purchase of the European and Asian operations of Lehman Brothers and the firm's subsequent international expansion. Four years on, that strategy is yet to pay off.