The reception lobby at Nomura's Roppongi Hills offices in central Tokyo presents a perfect picture of confidence and sophistication. The site housed Lehman Brothers before the US bank's swift demise last September; now the logo of Nomura, Japan's largest investment bank, is on display.
However, the dark emptiness of the rooms beyond the lobby illustrate the challenges Nomura still faces in its efforts to integrate Lehman.
When Nomura acquired the bulk of Lehman's Asian, European and Middle Eastern operations last October, it had to transfer hundreds of Lehman employees quickly to its cramped offices further north in the city. Moving Nomura's 15,000 existing staff into Lehman's office would have been impossible and the aim was to integrate Lehman staff quickly into the various business teams that comprise Nomura's Japanese operations.