Nomura said it was also hurt by its exposure to Iceland and Bernard Madoff, the accused swindler.
Nomura posted a Y342.9bn ($3.8bn) net loss for October-December, versus a Y21.8bn profit a year earlier.
The loss was bigger than estimated and Nomuraâ??s fourth quarterly loss in a row.
Nomura had said it faced costs of around $2bn related to its acquisition in September of the Asian, European and Middle East operations of failed investment bank Lehman Brothers.
It has also been hit by a downturn in the economy and equities markets.