Morgan Stanley starts UOB (U11.SG) at Equalweight with $20.75 target price, says Dow Jones.

Morgan Stanley says bank’s capital markets revenue exposed to mass affluent wealth sales, which will take time to recover: “We believe that UOB’s market-related fees are therefore more exposed to retail investor confidence, and therefore to moves in the equity market, and given recovery is likely to be slow, we do not expect that market-related fees will return to recent peaks.”

Research house says management’s conservative approach to investment may not necessarily be good for shareholders, with bank being best capitalized among Singapore lenders; “this excess capital is depressing returns.”

Shares +0.9% at $18.72.