The code name chosen for Nomura Holdings Inc.’s latest cost-cutting drive indicates how strongly its chief executive sees the need for savings at Japan’s largest brokerage. After slashing hundreds of overseas jobs since April, CEO Koji Nagai has unveiled his so-called “Waterline Project,” which will attempt to combat waste and improve the cost-effectiveness of the bank’s daily operations over the next three years.

The code name chosen for Nomura Holdings Inc.’s latest cost-cutting drive indicates how strongly its chief executive sees the need for savings at Japan’s largest brokerage. After slashing hundreds of overseas jobs since April, CEO Koji Nagai has unveiled his so-called “Waterline Project,” which will attempt to combat waste and improve the cost-effectiveness of the bank’s daily operations over the next three years.

Nomura Holdings Inc., the Japanese brokerage that has cut hundreds of jobs overseas since April, is now embarking on a companywide review of spending in order to reduce operating costs further over the next three years. Under the plan, called the “Waterline Project,” Nomura will evaluate the cost-effectiveness of employees’ daily activities and of the bank’s operations to determine how much money can be saved by 2020, Chief Executive Officer Koji Nagai said in an interview in Tokyo.