Daiwa Securities Group Inc is one of two large independent securities firms in Japan. Like Nomura, it competes with brokerage units of the megabanks and smaller independent firms in Japan, but unlike Nomura it does not have aspiration to compete globally with the U.S. and European investment banks and focuses on Japan-related business only. Daiwa moved its world-wide wholesale business to a joint venture with Sumitomo Bank in 1999, but the venture met only mixed success and Daiwa ultimately bought out Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group’s 40% interest in the venture in 2009 after SMFG opportunistically purchased Nikko Securities (now SMBC Nikko, a rival of Daiwa) from Citigroup.