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Mitsubishi UFJ applies to set up US holding firm
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group said on Tuesday it has applied to set up a holding company in the US, the latest move by Japan's top bank to increase its presence in the world's biggest economy.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:02 October 1, 2008
Tokyo: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group said on Tuesday it has applied to set up a holding company in the US, the latest move by Japan's top bank to increase its presence in the world's biggest economy.
The new status will allow the lender to expand beyond its current US commercial banking business into equities and bonds.
Mitsubishi UFJ announced the plan a day after saying it would take a 21 per cent stake in US investment bank Morgan Stanley.
"They want to be able to do both investment banking and commercial banking in the US, but without a financial holding company status it is impossible to do both under the same company," said Hironari Nozaki, bank at analyst at Nikko Citigroup.
Aggressive push
Often seen as the most conservative of Japan's big lenders, Mitsubishi UFJ is making an aggressive push into the US.
On Monday, the bank said it will buy a 21 per cent stake in Morgan Stanley for $9 billion. It has also taken full control of California lender UnionBanCal, a deal it estimated at $3.5 billion.
Mitsubishi UFJ had previously been prevented from applying for the holding company status after receiving an administrative penalty from US regulators in 2006 on charges of money laundering.
The bank said it received word yesterday that the penalty had been lifted.
Meanwhile, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today removed from 'CreditWatch' with negative implications its long-term counterparty credit ratings on Mitsubishi UFJ, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp, and Master Trust Bank of Japan.
The ratings on the companies' relevant senior unsecured debt, subordinated debt, junior subordinated debt, and preferred debt instruments were also removed from CreditWatch.
At the same time, Standard & Poor's affirmed all the ratings cited above, which had been placed on CreditWatch on September 24. The outlooks on the long-term counterparty ratings on these entities are stable.
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