Morgan Stanley yesterday reported its first quarterly profit in a year, led by a rebound in income from underwriting debt and equity issues as well as an infusion of revenues from its Morgan Stanley Smith Barney network of financial advisers.
The bank reported third-quarter earnings of $757m, a turnround from a loss of $159m the previous quarter. Revenues jumped to $8.7bn in the quarter from $5.4bn in the second quarter.
The US bank set aside $5bn for compensation expenses in the third quarter, up 28 per cent from $3.9bn in the previous quarter. For the first nine months of 2009, Morgan Stanley has accrued $10.9bn in compensation, down 9 per cent from $12bn in the first nine months of 2008.