Nomura's plans to 'upgrade its talent pool' seem to have begun in earnest - an announcement on bonuses by the bank this week is rumoured to have prompted some staff in its equities division to wonder whether a 0% bonus was, in fact, a polite request to resign.

The Japanese bank last month reported a 35% fall in global equities revenues for its April 1 - March 31 financial year, against the same period a year previous, and it would appear that the bonus pool is in line with revenues.