US global lender Citi has appointed Hajime Higuchi as its head of mergers and acquisitions ( M&A ) for Japan investment banking and Yoshinobu Agu as its head of sponsor coverage for Japan.
Higuchi and Agu will report to Akira Kiyota and Taiji Nagasaka, co-heads of Japan investment banking. In addition, Higuchi will have a matrix reporting line to Colin Banfield, head of Asia M&A.
Higuchi joins Citi from Nomura, where he most recently served as international head of M&A since 2020 and a member of the firm's global investment banking executive committee since 2013.
With more than 30 years of investment banking experience across Japan, Asia, Europe and the United States, he has advised on more than 250 domestic and cross-border transactions across a broad range of industries. Prior to joining Nomura, he held investment banking roles at J.P. Morgan Securities and Sanwa Bank.
Agu, who currently leads Citi’s Japan M&A business, has been appointed as its head of sponsor coverage ( including coverage for financial sponsors, as well as infrastructure and real estate funds ) for Japan investment banking. In this role, he will lead the coverage of financial sponsors and strategic investors, a strategic growth priority for the franchise.
Agu brings extensive experience advising clients on domestic and cross-border M&A transactions, as well as equity and debt financing transactions. He joined Citi’s predecessor firm in 1999 and has held senior client coverage responsibilities across several sectors.
“These appointments reflect our continued investment in our Japan Investment Banking franchise,” Kiyota says. “Higuchi’s global M&A experience and Agu’s extensive client and transaction expertise further strengthen our ability to support clients across Japan and internationally.”
