MORGAN STANLEY TO ACQUIRE E*TRADE

Morgan Stanley said Thursday it is buying online brokerage E*Trade for about $13 billion. E*Trade has more than 5.2 million client accounts with more than $360 billion of retail client assets, adding to Morgan Stanley’s existing 3 million client relationships and $2.7 trillion of client assets. E*Trade provides a suite of digital banking services, including direct integration with brokerage accounts, checking and highyield savings accounts, which could significantly accelerate Morgan Stanley’s digital banking efforts.