The acquisition was first announced in June 2015, with final regulatory approval granted this week. It was suggested at the time of the initial announcement that MUFG could pay as much as JPY30bn (£163.5m) to acquire AFS.
The deal forms part of MUFG’s strategy to build a global industry-leading fund administrator. The AFS acquisition has reportedly more than doubled the company’s total assets under administration to $266bn (£175.3bn, €242.2bn) across 2,300 funds.
AFS teams are based in Canada, Cayman, Hong Kong, Ireland, Jersey, Singapore, the UK, and the US.
Strategic decision
Junichi Okamoto, group head of Trust Assets Business Group, deputy president, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation said: “AFS is a strategic addition to our business and demonstrates our commitment and ambitions within the fund administration industry.
“The asset servicing and specifically fund administration landscape is changing significantly under the pressure of increased demands from regulators, managers and investors. As part of one of the largest banks in the world, with $2.4trn in assets, we are in an excellent position to offer the complex solutions that clients require to continually meet these challenges.
“We will be announcing further developments, aimed at enhancing our client and market proposition over the coming months,” Okamoto added.
Geoff Cook, chief executive of Jersey Finance, said: “MUFG Investor Services is the first significant Japanese institution to establish a physical presence in Jersey, underlining how well Jersey is perceived in overseas markets.”
