Morgan Stanley gets restricted banking license in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority  has granted a restricted banking licence to Bank Morgan Stanley AG under the Banking Ordinance.  The granting of this restricted banking licence took effect on November 23, 2011.

This increased the number of restricted licence banks in Hong Kong to 20.

BMSAG is incorporated in Switzerland.  It is a wholly-owned banking subsidiary of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, a joint venture between Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc.  According to the July 2010 issue of The Banker, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc are the 6th and the 3rd argest banking groups respectively in the U.S. in terms of Tier-1 capital.