NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Nov 28, 2011) - Mizuho Securities USA ("MSUSA") (NYSE: [ MFG ]), the U.S. broker-dealer subsidiary of the global Mizuho Financial Group, today announced the appointment of Brad Wilson as Executive Director and Head of U.S. Sales Trading for its U.S. Equities Trading platform.

Mr. Wilson has over eighteen years of experience in the institutional cash equities business as a trader and sales trader. Before joining MSUSA, Brad was a senior sales trader for several years at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., and prior to that, he held similar positions with ABN AMRO and CIBC World Markets.

Robert Betack, Executive Managing Director of the Equity Division, commented, "Having a professional of Brad's caliber head up our U.S. sales trading effort is a tremendous addition to our growing equities platform."

In addition to Mr. Wilson, MSUSA's equity franchise has also been strengthened through the recent appointments of Ralph Basile, Vincent Sgherza and Noelle Pepe as sales traders on its U.S. equity cash trading team. Mr. Basile, formerly of Lazard Capital, joins as a Director, bringing over fifteen years of trading experience and deep institutional client relationships with him to Mizuho. Mr. Sgherza, also a Director, will cover North American accounts, and has fourteen years of markets experience, most recently in the equities liquid markets group at Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers, respectively. Ms. Pepe comes to Mizuho from Hapoalim Securities, where she was a Vice President focused on domestic and international sales. Prior to that, she worked at Soleil Securities and Janney Montgomery Scott.

About Mizuho Securities USA
Mizuho Securities USA Inc. is a U.S. registered broker-dealer headquartered in New York City, with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Hoboken (NJ), Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and London (UK). MSUSA provides a wide range of fixed income and equity securities products and investment banking services to institutional clients. MSUSA is one of only 21 firms designated as a Primary Dealer in U.S. Government and Agency securities. MSUSA also is a U.S. registered futures commission merchant ("FCM") and a member of most international futures exchanges. MSUSA's parent company, Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd., is a top-tier, full-service, Japanese securities firm and a core member of the Mizuho Financial Group. [ http://www.mizuhosecurities.com ]

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: [ MFG ]), based in Japan, is one of the largest financial institutions in the world, offering a broad range of financial services including banking, securities, trust and asset management, credit card, private banking services, and venture capital through its group companies. The group has approximately 57,000 staff working in more than 980 offices inside and outside Japan, and total assets of over $2.1 trillion as of September 30, 2011. Its core global corporate banking entity, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd., has offices throughout the U.S., the Americas, and the world, providing financial and strategic solutions to major corporations, financial institutions and public sector entities. For more information, please visit [ http://www.mizuho-fg.co.jp/english/ ]