Daiwa Securities Group plans to sell a business serving hedge funds to Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia as part of the Japanese brokerage's move to shed non-core assets and shift its focus to Asia, two sources familiar with the matter said.Daiwa is unloading its synthetic prime brokerage arm, which is engaged in helping hedge funds apply leverage to their trading strategies by using share swaps and other means.The business has about 40 staff, the majority of which are based in London. It also has desks in Hong Kong and New York.For Japan's second-largest brokerage, pulling out of the business is aimed at cutting its risk and freeing up liquidity for other operations, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement.
The Bank of Nova Scotia (the Bank) is a diversified financial institution. Shares of BNS remained unchanged at $50.37. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $45.79 and as high as $62.33. On average, 612560 shares of BNS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 0.
