Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group plans to expand a team of bankers serving rich clients as Japan’s largest lender seeks to draw more of its bank customers to higher-value services, according to a senior executive.
The lender may grow a recently created team dedicated to affluent clients to about 50 from 24, Akiko Matsubara, head of MUFG’s wealth management strategy division, said in an interview. The group was set up in April with staff across Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.
MUFG is trying to replicate the success of Morgan Stanley’s wealth management business, which has become a stable earner, balancing off more volatile trading and investment banking. Partners in a local joint venture, the U.S. bank is providing training and product development support to MUFG.