Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) has agreed to sell its EMEA Private Wealth Management (EMEA PWM) businesses in the UK, UAE, and Italy to Credit Suisse. The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2013. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
The deal is part of a wider restructuring at Morgan Stanley which will see the firm’s Swiss private bank, Bank Morgan Stanley AG, more closely aligned with the firm’s Institutional Securities Group (ISG), enabling the businesses to better meet international wealth management client needs. This move follows a similar re-alignment of the firm’s Asian PWM business with ISG.
“The restructuring is a culmination of a thorough strategic review of our EMEA PWM business,” says Colm Kelleher, President of Institutional Securities Group. “Our Swiss Bank is an integral part of our international wealth management offering, and by aligning the bank with our leading institutional franchise, we see considerable opportunities to better meet client needs and grow our international business.”
