By Jungyoun Park
SEOUL, April 8 (Reuters) - Woori Investment & Securities is in talks with Bank of America Corp's Merrill Lynch to buy the U.S. investment bank's South Korean private banking business, a local newspaper reported on Friday.
Both Woori and Merrill Lynch declined to comment on the report in the Maeil Business Newspaper.
Woori currently employs 40 private bankers and operates a private banking center in Seoul's ritzy Gangnam district, according to a company spokesman. Market estimates cited in the report said it was managing a combined 1 trillion won ($919.5 mln) worth of assets from roughly 700 high net worth individuals.
Merrill Lynch's Seoul private banking operation is said to have 10 bankers also overseeing roughly 1 trillion won in total, the report.
"Merrill Lynch is very good at wealth management, and Woori Investment has a lot to gain from the takeover if it is serious about expanding the private banking operation," said David Rhee, an analyst at Hyundai Securities.
Wealth management accounts for about 15 to 20 percent of Woori Investment's revenue and is forecast to rise further, according to analysts.
South Korean brokerages are rapidly expanding their presence in the industry previously dominated by commercial banks.
"Commercial banks offer limited, fairly conservative investment options, but brokerages offer a wider range of more exotic investment products," Rhee said, which is seen helping them win larger market share in the sector.
The report follows news that South Korea may merge Woori Investment and Daewoo Securities in a bid to create the country's biggest securities firm.[ID:nL3E7F704A] ($1 = 1,087.6 won) (Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)