Morgan Stanley lost close to a third of the assets in its prime brokerage last week, amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars, as hedge funds fled in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and moved to rival banks.
The losses, confirmed by several people familiar with the business, will deal a significant blow to Morgan Stanley as its prime brokerage – the world's biggest – is one of its most profitable and successful businesses.
The flight of cash and stock out of the division occurred as spreads in the credit default swap market ballooned, but has since slowed to a trickle, these people said. Morgan Stanley declined to comment.