Nordea Securities, the investment banking arm of Nordea, the Nordic financial services group, has reversed its strategy and closed its London and New York offices.

The bank said the two offices would close with immediate effect. The closure will affect about 40 employees within the bank's equities, corporate finance, research and business support divisions. Of the 40 staff, 31 are based in London. Nordea's non-investment banking operations in London and New York will continue to operate, and include corporate and institutional banking services such as trade finance, export finance and cash management.