Sumitomo Trust and Banking has hired Daiwa Securities SMBC and UBS AG to advise on its planned merger with Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

Chuo Mitsui hired Nomura Holdings Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co to advise it on the transaction, the people said, asking to be identified because the information is not public.

The two banks said earlier this month they plan to merge, creating Japan's largest trust bank and gaining scale to better compete in a crowded asset management industry. They aim to complete the merger by April 2012.

(Reporting by Taro Fuse)

Investment Japan