Morgan Stanley's private wealth management arm in Asia has won a restricted banking licence from Hong Kong's regulator and defacto central bank.

Morgan Stanley’s private wealth management arm in Asia has won a restricted banking licence from Hong Kong’s regulator and defacto central bank, taking effect immediately.

The licence was granted to Morgan Stanley Asia Private Wealth Management by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the HKMA said in a statement.

This part of Morgan Stanley is a wholly-owned banking subsidiary of the US-listed firm, which is the sixth-largest banking group in the US. While growing this side of the business, Morgan Stanley has sold some of its non-US wealth business, such as in Europe, to get out of what are seen as sub-scale markets.

The latest licence means the number of restricted licence banks in Hong Kong stands at 21, the HKMA said.

In another example of a US firm seeking to widen its Asian footprint, BNY Mellon Wealth Management, which for the past 18 months or so has been on a recruitment drive in the US, recently won regulatory approval in Hong Kong to launch discretionary investment and wealth management services to high net worth individual investors.

This publication is in contact with Morgan Stanley on what the licence will mean for its business in Asia.