MUFG planning to sell part of US unit to US Bancorp for about US$7.3b

[TOKYO] Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) has decided to sell the personal banking arm of its US unit MUFG Union Bank to US Bancorp in a cash and stock deal worth about US$7.30 billion, the Nikkei daily reported on Tuesday.

Part of the payment will be in the form of shares in US Bancorp, with which the Japanese bank is expected to form a capital alliance, the paper said without citing its source.

Bloomberg reported the possible sale of MUFG Union Bank last week - a move that would mark a significant strategy shift for Japan's biggest lender.

MUFG Union Bank had around 300 branches as of the end of last year, with most of those retail branches on the West coast of the United States, its website shows.

With assets of US$132 billion, it provides corporate, commercial and retail banking as well as wealth management. It became a wholly owned unit of Mitsubishi UFJ in 2008, when the Japanese lender paid around US$3.5 billion for the third it did not already control.

MUFG Union Bank will keep its commercial baking business, the Nikkei said.

REUTERS