| The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) conducted 
                an inspection of Nikko Securities Co., Ltd. (Nikko) based on provisions 
                of the Securities and Exchange Law (SEL), and found legal violations 
                described below.
 Today, the SESC sent a recommendation to the Prime Minister 
                and the Commissioner of Financial Services Agency (FSA) to take 
                a disciplinary action against Nikko pursuant to Article 20(1) 
                of the FSA Establishment Law. 
              Misstatements concerning securities and other transactions
 From April 1996 to October 1997, Nikko sold foreign bonds to 
                  many corporate customers. With the involvement of a section 
                  chief and other staff of the Bond Trading Division, Nikko misstated 
                  an explanatory note, which is a sales material, on contents 
                  of foreign securities of the bonds, and issued it to the customers. 
                  Those misstatements were about a counter party of a currency 
                  swap and the preference of redemption.
 
 (Violation of a Ministerial Ordinance, Article 50(1)(vi) of 
                  the SEL prior to the amendment of December 1, 1998)
 
Provision of property gains to increase gains
 From October 1 to 6, 1999, with the involvement of a section 
                  chief of the Nishinomiya branch, Nikko provided property gains 
                  for a customer on the purpose of increasing the customer's gains 
                  by distributing IPO stocks, intentionally. In fact, those stocks 
                  had been expected to rise, and the branch had only a few units 
                  of the stocks to be distributed.
 
 (Violation of Article 42-2 (1)(iii) of the SEL)
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