The man credited with making Nomura-Lehman deal a reality is leaving the firm. Jasjit "Jesse" Bhattal, former Asia-Pacific CEO of Lehman Brothers, will step down from his current job as chairman of Nomura Asia at the end of this year, reports Finance Asia.
Quoting an internal report seen by Finance Asia, the report said that Bhattal "will continue to provide his counsel and strategic insight as a senior advisor after this period". It further adds that a message to Nomura employees from Takumi Shibata, deputy president and COO of Nomura Holdings, said that Bhattal will be leaving, "now that the integration of the Asia businesses has been successfully completed and the value of the acquired businesses has been proven with a significant contribution to the firm".
VCCircle could not individually confirm the development. Nomura, which acquired Lehman's Asia operations last September, has seen a lot of former Lehman bankers exiting.
Under Bhattal's leadership as CEO, Lehman Brothers Asia achieved five consecutive years of record revenues (2003-2007), leading all global divisions at the firm with respect to pre-tax margins and return on equity, according to Bhattal's CV, says the report. He increased Asia revenues to around $2.9 billion in 2007 from $425 million in 2001, a nearly seven-fold increase.