Nomura's European chief said the bank is heading "in the right direction" after its wholesale division bounced back from its first quarterly loss in almost four years.

Three months ago, the Japanese bank, which suffered a fiscal fourth-quarter pre-tax loss of ¥22.8 billion for the three months to March 31, had flagged up plans to close certain businesses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and instigate changes in the Americas. This came in the wake of extreme volatility, economic uncertainty and poor market liquidity, with the European equities business hit hard by the cutbacks.