Standard Chartered India has agreed to acquire the private wealth management business of Morgan Stanley India for an undisclosed amount, subject to regulatory approvals.
The bank had re-entered the private banking business in 2006 after a decade's gap, and currently private banking constitutes around 30 per cent of its business. StanChart's private banking is headed by Sandeep Das.
SPECIAL: 155 years and StanChart is still going strong in India"Standard Chartered India has agreed to acquire Morgan Stanley's onshore
private wealth management business here. The acquisition complements our existing private banking onshore business and will significantly increase our private banking AUM here," said a statement by StanChart India.
Morgan Stanley entered the private banking area in the country four years ago. The unit is headed by executive director Himanshu Bhagat.
Morgan Stanley India could not be contacted for comments immediately.
Market observers said the acquisition is part of StanChart's plan to ramp up its private banking arm.
"The deal reinforces our commitment to the consumer banking business here and further consolidates our leading position amongst the top private banking segments here," the StanChart statement said further.
MUST SEE: Oldest MNCs in India Though the bank did not divulge the deal size, it is understood that Morgan Stanley India handles around $800 million of assets under its management, which is only around 5 per cent of its balance sheet in the country, and it employs around 400 people.
With inputs from PTI 
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