The deputy president of Nomura and chief executive of the wholesale division of Nomura Holdings, has resigned, amid continued decline in the Japanese investment bank's revenue.

The deputy president of Nomura and chief executive of the wholesale division of Nomura Holdings, has resigned, amid continued decline in the Japanese investment bank's revenue. 

Rumours about the departure of former-Lehman Brothers banker Jasji Bhattal had been the subject of industry speculation over the past years, particularly with the company's dwindling performance since the global financial crisis. Bhattal is credited with trying to salvage the company's global expansion plans. 

In in the interim,Takumi Shibata, chief operating officer, takes over Bhattal's responsibilities and will lead efforts to find a permanent replacement.

The bank had taken responsibility of the Asian and European businesses of Lehman Brothers after it collapsed in 2008 and since then the company has struggled to keep its international business together. The wholesale division, which the 55-year-old executive led, posted major losses in 2011 prompting Nomura to launch a $1.2 billion drive to reduce costs. According to data from Thomson Reuters, while Nomura leads in Japan with $6.8 billion in deals, its international presence places it at a far 32nd place.

Top-level executives leaving amid major revenue declines is becoming increasingly common in Asia, with Bank of America reportedly dismissing Asia mergers and acquisitions co-head Michael Cho due to consistent drops in investment banking returns, also reported yesterday. 

An official announcement for his departure has yet to be issued, but Bloomberg quoted an insider as saying that Cho will be joined by 14 other managing directors from the Asia investment banking team as the company embarks on a $5 billion cost cutting effort under chief executive Brian Moynihan. These cuts are reportedly not included in the 30,000 staff cuts Moynihan noted in his Project New BAC reorganisation initiatve.