Hub / regional bank
Nomura
Japan's Nomura built an NRI desk into its young international wealth arm — Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai.
Dedicated NRI team
Yes
Strategy tenure
NRI coverage since 2021 (IWM build-out)
India onshore arc
Never onshore
Hubs
Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai
Nomura runs the non-resident Indian segment as a core pillar of its International Wealth Management (IWM) arm, the Asia-ex-Japan private bank it began building in 2021. From the outset it hired specifically for NRI coverage: Adil Khan — poached from Citi Private Bank's global India business — joined as Southeast Asia group head focused on the NRI market in January 2021, followed by NRI-market relationship managers Kapil Poply, Sharon Bahl and Gautam Sareen in August 2021. In July 2023 it opened DIFC premises in Dubai under a DFSA Category 4 licence, with IWM head Ravi Raju framing the Gulf presence as complementing a strategy of serving Greater China, Southeast Asia and 'the global NRI segment'. It remains a sub-scale, later-stage builder relative to the Swiss and Singapore incumbents.
Why it matters
Nomura is an under-noticed NRI builder: its International Wealth Management arm has treated the global-NRI segment as a founding pillar since 2021, poaching Citi's global-India team head and stacking NRI-market RMs before opening in Dubai's DIFC in 2023. It is sub-scale next to the Swiss and Singapore incumbents, and its Hong Kong-heavy heritage runs against the migration of NRI money to Singapore and Dubai — but its bankers rotate through the same senior NRI bench that defines the corridor — Sandesh Assao, whose two decades span Bank of Singapore, Nomura and EFG, surfaced at RBC in 2026.
The journey
Opens DIFC premises in Dubai to serve 'the global NRI segment'
Nomura expanded its International Wealth Management business with new premises in Dubai International Financial Centre under a Category 4 licence from the DFSA, serving high-net-worth individuals, single family offices and external asset managers across the UAE, GCC, North Africa and the Levant. IWM head Ravi Raju said the on-the-ground presence would complement a strategy of serving Greater China, Southeast Asia and the global NRI segment.
Adds NRI-market relationship managers to the IWM bench
Nomura continued its wealth-management recruitment with hires explicitly covering the non-resident Indian market: Kapil Poply (MD and team lead, Southeast Asia and NRI markets), Sharon Bahl (executive director, RM covering the NRI market, 30+ years' experience) and Gautam Sareen (executive director, RM, Southeast Asia and NRI markets).
Builds International Wealth Management with an NRI-focused Southeast Asia head
As Nomura built out its International Wealth Management arm, it hired Adil Khan as Managing Director and group head for Southeast Asia, focused on the NRI market in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Khan joined from Citi Private Bank, where he was managing director and team head for the global India business and ran the Middle East desk in Asia. IWM head Ravi Raju said the recruitment drive's initial focus was Greater China, Southeast Asia and the Global South Asia market.
Connections
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