LONDON - Morgan Stanley is in the early stages of a strategic review of its Swiss private banking business, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The investment bank is examining several options, including a possible sale of the private bank in Switzerland, which has about 10 billion Swiss francs, or $11.3 billion, in assets under management, said the person, who was not authorized to discuss the review publicly.
Morgan Stanley declined to comment on Wednesday.
The Swiss financial news website finews.ch reported the sale talks on Wednesday.
Morgan Stanley has been realigning its wealth management business more closely with its institutional business in Asia, where the Swiss private bank also has operations. Asia accounts for about 80 percent of the assets under management in its wealth management operations.
Last year, Morgan Stanley sold the bulk of its wealth management business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to Credit Suisse. That business had about $13 billion in assets under management at the time.
In February, Standard Chartered, the British bank that earns most of its profit in Asia, confirmed that it was preparing its Swiss private bank for a sale in a similar move as part of an effort to reduce noncore operations.
