So Morgan Stanley is planning to bulk up through
acquisitions and has sold $3 billion in certificates of deposit during the past week as part of its broader plan to build deposits. Well, this new plan would debunk the theories that Morgan Stanley could
go broke, as Clusterstock suggested, or could look to be acquired by another bank such as
Citigroup Inc., as some discussion board conversations suggest.
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Morgan Stanley reported $36 billion in deposits as of Aug. 31, but it has around $1 trillion in assets, according to Reuters. So plans to acquire at this point could be a bunch of hot air, but any acquisition would have to be of a bank that could help support Morgan Stanley's current heft and potential growth.
Morgan Stanley is taking these initiatives to grow, according to its press release:
- Starting a campaign involving the Firm's 8,500 financial advisers to raise client awareness about the banking services available through the Morgan Stanley Global Wealth Management Group, or GWMG;
- Planning to introduce new bank products next year, such as savings account products and global currency accounts, in addition to those it already offers to clients;
- Using the firm's Swiss bank to expand international banking activities; and
- Initiating a campaign to expand its existing business banking business.
The list of new products means the old white-shoe investment bank is clearly looking to take on banking leaders Bank of America Corp. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., as DealBook points out. However, a laundry list of new products also provides a hint as to what banks Morgan Stanley is likely to target if it is seriously seeking acquisitions.
So which institutions might Morgan Stanley be scoping out? Well, it is unlikely Morgan Stanley would buy any of the 25 TARP recipient banks. More likely, Morgan Stanley may instead target one of the larger banks on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s watch list of 117 banks, which have a combined $78.3 billion in deposits.
Have any possibilities to suggest? Leave a comment below. - Maria Woehr
Comments
I vote for Colonial Bankgroup, which many feel will not qualify for TARP capital