Morgan Stanley to sell India wealth mgmt biz to StanChart

Morgan Stanley said on Monday it has signed an agreement to sell its Indian wealth management unit to Standard Chartered. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"Morgan Stanley will work closely with Standard Chartered over the coming months to ensure a smooth transfer of our wealth management clients currently serviced in India," the US bank said

in a statement.

This process is expected to be completed by the end of 2013, it said.

Morgan Stanley launched the sale of its Indian private wealth management unit in November 2012, after entering the highly fragmented and competitive market about four years earlier.

The sale of the unit underscores a growing trend of consolidation in Asia's wealth management industry as private banks struggle to earn profits in the face of rising regulatory costs and wafer-thin advisory fees.