Every Monday morning seems to bring a fresh surprise to brighten up the start to the week and yesterday’s was the historic announcement that both Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have moved over to deposit taking bank status after 75 years of being in the investment banking arena.

So what might this change mean for these venerable institutions’ wealth management businesses?

“They haven't converted they changed their status; it will take either significant banking acquisitions on their parts or mergers with banks before they are true net deposit gatherers,” points out Ray Soudah, founder of MillenniumAssociates, the Swiss-based wealth management M&A boutique.

“In any case as to their wealth management strategies it remains to be seen but I would imagine it to be more serious given the lower capital required compared to investment banking,” he told WealthBriefing.

“Structurally, this confirms what I had been saying since the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch deal,” said Robert Ellis, New York-based senior analyst at Celent.

“The universal bank model of Europe and Asia is now the preferred model for the US. Investment banks will have large retail deposit bases to raise low-cost funds, which they will use in proprietary trading with FDIC backstopping them.

“They will also develop product in the investment bank and try to push it through the retail brokerage. All in all, a bad deal for taxpayers and the government; a great deal for investment banks, at least the ones left,” he said.

Scorpio Partnership’s Sebastian Dovey takes a very positive view of the potential outcome.

"The development presents these two firms with a fantastic opportunity to finally build modern private investment banking solution that actually can offer banking services for top tier clients,” said the think tank’s managing partner.

“It will need a strong vision and structure to succeed. The key will be to build the proposition sufficiently well in order to convince the target audience at a time when trust for financial institutions is at an all time low," he said.

Independent wealth management consultant Bruce Weatherill does not believe that the pair will become retail banks as they are known in the UK but sees it as an important move to be able to take deposits.

“What will be interesting will be the size of their tier 1 and other capital requirements and what will be required in relation to their trading positions, this is the key question,” he said.

“All the work done on BASEL 2/3 will need to be scrutinised again with this move and also because of the recent turmoil in the market.”