BofA quits private banking in Japan

Sells entire stake to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

MUFJ, Japan's largest financial group, is set to pay Bank of America Corporation US$470 million for its 49% stake in their Japanese private banking venture, Mitsubishi UFJ Merrill Lynch PB Securities Company.

BofA’s Japanese brokerage unit, however, will continue to provide mutual funds, derivatives and structured products to the private bank after the sale.

The decision to dissolve the joint venture follows BofA’s sale of its unprofitable, non-US wealth management business to Julius Baer, the Swiss private bank, US$1.7 billion last August.

The private banking joint venture between BofA and MUFJ had operating revenues of US$299 million in the year to March 2012 and net profits of US$81 million.