According to an article by
The Wall Street Journal, the firm has about
$36 billion in deposits and around $800 billion in assets and could be
shopping around for a private regional player such as Boston Private
Financial Holdings or City National Corp. of Los Angeles.
According to American Banker,
Cecelia "Cece" Sutton is moving over from Wachovia Corp. to head up the effort in January to identify acquisition targets for Morgan Stanley.
And with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. holding a stake in Morgan Stanley, the bank's shopping spree isn't necessarily limited to U.S. banks.
- Maria WoehrAlso see:
Who will Morgan Stanley acquire?
Well, it looks like Morgan Stanley may really acquire regional retail banks to bulk up and convert into a bank holding company. In October the bank raised $3 billion in certificates of deposit during part of its broader plan to build deposits.
