Morgan, Mitsubishi UFJ to merge brokerages

TOKYO: Morgan Stanley and major Japanese bank Mitsubishi UFJ have reached a basic agreement to merge their brokerage businesses in Japan, a business newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Under the deal, the US investment bank's Japanese unit and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co., the brokerage arm of Mitsubishi UFJ, will be integrated later this year, the Nikkei business newspaper reported, without citing sources. It said the two banking groups are seeking to reach a final agreement in March.

Their merger would create the third-largest brokerage in Japan after Nomura Holdings Co. and Daiwa Securities Group, the Nikkei said.

A Morgan Stanley spokesman in Tokyo declined to comment on the report. Phone calls to Mitsubishi UFJ went unanswered Wednesday, a public holiday in Japan.