The upheaval in Australia's scandal-tainted banking industry has handed Japan's largest banking group a long-awaited opportunity to get a bigger foothold in the global asset management industry.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. on Wednesday agreed to buy Commonwealth Bank of Australia's global asset management unit for 4.13 billion Australian dollars ($2.9 billion). The deal adds AU$213 billion of assets under management across the U.S., Australia and Asia.
MUFG has been exploring acquisitions to diversify from its domestic lending businesses, which are constrained by low interest rates and a shrinking population. The bank said it will have $727.2 billion in assets under management after the transaction, vaulting it to the top of the Asia-Oceania rankings and giving it a platform to become one of the 15 largest managers worldwide.