David Murray's strategic vision of vertical integration in financial services has officially withered at Commonwealth Bank, with new chief executive Matt Comyn unveiling a blueprint to divorce the wealth management arms of the group from its core banking businesses.Under a plan expected to be completed next year, the bank's wealth management and mortgage broking businesses will be bundled into a new holding company known as "CFS Group" that will be demerged from CBA.The reorganisation will result in the demerger of five businesses from the listed CBA entity: Colonial First State, Colonial First State Global Asset Management, Count Financial, Financial Wisdom and Aussie Home Loans.Collectively, these businesses accounted for more than A$500 million of CBA's net profit in 2017 and could fetch a multiple of around 17 times pre-tax earnings when CFS Group is listed on the ASX.CBA's scrip currently trades on a multiple of around 13 times earnings, while pure wealth management businesses such as IOOF trade on multiples of 17 to 20 times earnings.CBA's minority investments in other listed companies, CountPlus and Mortgage Choice, will also be wrapped into the spin-off. Comyn said the demerger would be executed through a scheme of arrangement in which existing CBA investors would receive proportional allocations of shares in the spin-off business.The demerger signals a comprehensive unwinding of the integrated financial services model that was developed by former managing director David Murray 18 years ago when the Colonial businesses were acquired for $9 billion.At the turn of the millennium, Murray and other bank CEOs believed the push into wealth management on a large scale would help to de-risk their organisational biases to lending and give shareholders exposure to the fast-growing retirement savings market.However, Murray's strategic vision was never matched by reality.From the time they entered the group, CBA's Colonial operations always lagged the returns on equity generated by the banking businesses in its home markets.And, instead of de-risking the banks, the wealth management arms of the four majors eventually became headsprings of torrential reputational damage. Comyn's remedy is to follow ANZ and NAB into legal separation."Today's announcement is another step in our stated priority to become a simpler, better bank and has followed a thorough review of the group's businesses and its optimal organisational structure to drive growth and shareholder value for all businesses," he said."It also responds to continuing shifts in the external environment and community expectations, and addresses the concerns regarding banks owning wealth management businesses."While underlining the strategic need for the demerger, Comyn also had to tread a delicate line of not trashing the businesses he intends to offload."Well these are some fantastic businesses…each in their own right (they're) very successful businesses with very strong growth profiles," he said."Ultimately, we believe that they will perform better outside the Commonwealth Bank Group, which will also enable CBA shareholders to participate in that improved performance."The decisions to wrap Aussie Home Loans and the minority stake in Mortgage Choice into the spin-off company are controversial.Aussie's business practices have come under heightened public scrutiny