Nomura hires John Hanson to head Australia M&A

SYDNEY Aug 27 (Reuters) - Nomura Holdings Inc (8604.T), Japan's top brokerage, has hired John Hanson as head of mergers and acquisitions to boost its investment banking team, Nomura said in a statement on Thursday.

It added that Ian Maxton will join to head its financial institutions group, while Ed de Salis would join the risk solutions group in Australia.

Hanson joins from the Australian operations of Bank of America/Merrill Lynch (BAC.N), while Maxton will move to Nomura from Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE).

The latest hires would take Nomura's total staff in Australia to 90, a spokeswoman said.

Many investment banks have stepped up hiring in Australia, anticipating a pick-up in mergers and acquisitions activity. For a related story: [ID:nSP478365]. (Reporting by Denny Thomas;)