FACTBOX: Sovereign funds buying stakes in banks

(Reuters) - As the global credit crisis deepens, major banks are turning to sovereign wealth funds for capital injections.

Rising commodity prices and the rapid growth of nations such as China have given some $2 trillion of assets to sovereign funds. Many of the funds are seeking higher returns by taking stakes in investment firms abroad.

Banks are paying high prices for the capital, but working with sovereign funds can allow for a quick infusion of equity, without a public offering that discloses the firm's financial details.

Following is a rundown of major investment banks getting support from sovereign wealth funds, starting with the most recent:

* On Monday, Merrill Lynch & Co Inc MER.N, which has been hit by huge subprime mortgage losses, said it would boost its capital by raising up to $6.2 billion in a private placement with Singapore's Temasek Holdings and Davis Selected Advisors.

* On December 19, after recording a fourth-quarter loss and $9.4 billion of write-downs, Morgan Stanley (MS.N), the second-largest U.S. investment bank, said it sold a $5 billion stake to China Investment Corp. The fund will get equity units convertible into as much as 9.9 percent of the bank's common stock.

* On December 10, The Government of Singapore Investment Corp injected about $9.75 billion into UBS AG (UBSN.VX), Europe's fourth-largest bank, for a stake of up to 9 percent in the Swiss bank. An unnamed Middle East investor also agreed to buy an additional stake in UBS of about 1.5 percent. UBS had announced a $10 billion write-down and said it could have its first full-year loss in a decade.

* In November, Citigroup (C.N), the largest U.S. financial services company, sold up to 4.9 percent of itself for $7.5 billion in equity units convertible to common shares to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Citigroup has said it might have to record an $8 billion to $11 billion write-down for assets linked to subprime mortgages.

* In October, CITIC Securities Co agreed to invest about $1 billion in Bear Stearns Co BSC.N securities that would convert into about 6 percent of the U.S. investment bank. Bear Stearns will spend a similar amount on CITIC debt that will over time amount to a 2 percent stake.

(Reporting by Paritosh Bansal, editing by Maureen Bavdek)