US Fed extends public comment period for Morgan Stanley’s E*TRADE deal
15 May 2020 New York
Image: Brian A Jackson/Shutterstock.com
The US Federal Reserve is giving interested parties additional time to comment on Morgan Stanley’s acquisition of E*TRADE, the electronic broker and trading platform, in consideration of the COVID-19 disruption.
Those wishing to raise concerns now have until 4 June to submit written comments to the Fed.
In a statement on the extension, the Fed says the deadline is being pushed back to provide additional time for interested parties to comment “in light of the ongoing challenges for households and businesses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic”.
According to the Fed: “Interested persons may express their views in writing on the question whether the proposal complies with the standards of section 4 of the BHC Act.”
Comments can be submitted either to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Secretary. All comments received will be posted online.
Morgan Stanley first announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire E*TRADE in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $13 billion in February.
At the time the deal was inked, E*TRADE had more than 5.2 million client accounts with over $360 billion of retail client assets, which will be added to Morgan Stanley’s existing 3 million client relationships and $2.7 trillion of client assets.
Commenting in February, Morgan Stanley said: “The combination will significantly increase the scale and breadth of Morgan Stanley’s wealth management franchise, and positions Morgan Stanley to be an industry leader in wealth management across all channels and wealth segments.”
The deal was originally expected to close in the fourth quarter of the year and it is currently unconfirmed if the Fed’s extended consultation period will push this back to 2021.
Those wishing to raise concerns now have until 4 June to submit written comments to the Fed.
In a statement on the extension, the Fed says the deadline is being pushed back to provide additional time for interested parties to comment “in light of the ongoing challenges for households and businesses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic”.
According to the Fed: “Interested persons may express their views in writing on the question whether the proposal complies with the standards of section 4 of the BHC Act.”
Comments can be submitted either to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Secretary. All comments received will be posted online.
Morgan Stanley first announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire E*TRADE in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $13 billion in February.
At the time the deal was inked, E*TRADE had more than 5.2 million client accounts with over $360 billion of retail client assets, which will be added to Morgan Stanley’s existing 3 million client relationships and $2.7 trillion of client assets.
Commenting in February, Morgan Stanley said: “The combination will significantly increase the scale and breadth of Morgan Stanley’s wealth management franchise, and positions Morgan Stanley to be an industry leader in wealth management across all channels and wealth segments.”
The deal was originally expected to close in the fourth quarter of the year and it is currently unconfirmed if the Fed’s extended consultation period will push this back to 2021.
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