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TOKYO-In the seemingly endless recent trend of the US investment-bank bailouts, an overseas player has gotten involved. Locally based Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is investing $9 billion in New York City-based Morgan Stanley, giving it a 21% interest in the company.

The move comes after the federal government last week turned Morgan and fellow investment bank Goldman Sachs into holding companies. A potential sale of Morgan has brought into question the fate of its commercial real estate assets.

Mitsubishi and Morgan plan to partner on investment banking, retail banking and asset management. The former has nearly 900 bank branches and offices throughout Japan; 55 in other parts of Asia; 35 in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 30 in the Americas. It also owns the 336-unit Union Bank of California.