Party at Nomura in the U.S.

Nomura may be pulling back in Europe, but it's doing no such thing in the U.S.

The Japanese bank, which is set to move into new, larger office space in New York City in 2013, will hire more than 60 managing and executive directors for its investment-banking unit within the next three to five years, up from the 38 it has now.

As its competitors lay off, Nomura is trying to seize the opportunity to break into the top 10 global investment banks. It has more than doubled the number of its U.S. employees since March 2009 to 2,350 this year.

James DeNaut, head of investment banking for the Americas, told Bloomberg the bank is hiring in hopes of reaching $1 billion in i-banking revenue for the Americas, which would help it crack the top 10.

In contrast, headcount in Europe has gone down by 500 since the end of September to March 31. While the bank has conducted about 1,300 layoffs around the world as a cost-cutting exercise, that rate is expected to slow, senior management said last month.

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