TOKYO (Reuters) -Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) said it has agreed to sell the personal banking arm of its U.S. unit MUFG Union Bank to US Bancorp (NYSE:) in a cash and stock deal worth $8 billion.

In a press release, they stated that the payment would include $5.5 Billion in cash as well 44 M shares in US Bancorp (or a 2.9% interest) which will enable it to form a capital alliance. They said that the deal should close before June 2013.

Bloomberg last week reported on the possibility of selling MUFG Bank. This would be a major strategy shift by a bank that has been based in America for many decades but recently stated that it is looking to expand its presence more towards Asia.

MUFG is one of many Japanese banks that have sought to grow overseas to improve profits. This has been because Japan’s ultra-low interest rate and shrinking Japanese population have made it hard to raise earnings in Japan.

According to its website, MUFG Union Bank has around 300 branches, most of which are located on the West Coast.

It has assets totalling $132 billion and provides retail, corporate, and commercial banking services as well as wealth management. In 2008, Mitsubishi UFJ (NYSE 🙂 made it a fully owned subsidiary. The Japanese lender purchased the other three units for $3.5 billion.

MUFG Union Bank is retaining its investment and corporate banking businesses and certain administrative operations.

Japanese parent MUFG also owns a fifth of Wall Street investment bank Morgan Stanley (NYSE:).

($1 = 109.5700 yen)