Merrill Lynch is in the final stages of negotiating with Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group a joint venture to establish a Japanese brokerage ...

Merrill Lynch is in the final stages of negotiating with Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group a joint venture to establish a Japanese brokerage house specialising in private banking services, according to reports in the Japanese media. The proposed firm is expected to be launched in March 2006 and to take around $9.5 billion in financial assets now managed by Merrill Lynch Japan Securities and a portion of MTFG’s customer assets. The new firm will be staffed with 150 private banking professionals to be dispatched by both sides—50 from MTFG's Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and the rest from Merrill Lynch Japan, according to one report. Japan is expected to implement further banking reforms this year, which will likely deregulate the environment for private banking, and both domestic and foreign banks are gearing up to compete in this area. JP Morgan hinted recently that it planned a private banking venture in Japan.