A scandal has damaged the firm just as issuers and investors are increasingly adopting environmental, social and governance targets into their business strategies.
Toshihiro Sato of SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. is charged with violating the financial instruments and exchange law over suspected involvement in stock price manipulation.
The move against the unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., the country’s No. 2 lender, will be a blow to one of Japan’s biggest brokerages and its second-largest megabank.
Sources say Japan's regulator is investigating alleged market manipulation through repeated transactions intended to prevent the prices of certain stocks from falling.