The Bank of New York Mellon plans to apply for a banking licence,
The Australian reported. The bank expects to be trading as a foreign bank branch by early 2009.
BNY Mellon has offered asset management and corporate trust services in Australia since 1983 and wants to diversify this to develop a wholesale bank business.
In April, BNY Mellon acquired the Trust Company Limited's 50 per cent interest in BNY Trust Australia, a joint venture formed in 2005.