Morgan Stanley reveals loss of US$911M

Morgan Stanley lost nearly US$1 billion from the collapse of family office Archegos Capital Management, the bank said on Friday, muddying its 150 per cent jump in first-quarter profit that was powered by a boom in trading and deal-making.

Morgan Stanley was one of several banks that had exposure to Archegos, which defaulted on margin calls late last month and triggered a fire sale of stocks across Wall Street.

Morgan Stanley lost US$644 million by selling stocks it held related to Archegos' positions, and another US$267 million trying to “derisk” them, Morgan Stanley chief executive James Gorman said on a call with analysts.

“I regard that decision as necessary and money well spent,” he said.

The bank did not disclose losses right away because they were not deemed material in the context of its overall results, he added.

Morgan Stanley is not alone in nursing losses as a prime broker for Archegos. Switzerland's Credit Suisse Group AG and Japan's Nomura Holdings Inc bore the brunt, having lost US$4.7 billion and US$2 billion, respectively.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo & Co also handled Archegos positions but exited them without losses, Reuters and other media outlets have reported.

Morgan Stanley did not realize that Archegos had similar, concentrated positions at several banks across Wall Street, Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Pruzan told Reuters. As such, the collateral requirements it imposed were only reflecting Archegos's particular risks at Morgan Stanley, not the risks across the fund's broader portfolio.

Morgan Stanley has reviewed its prime brokerage business for similar problems but not found any, Pruzan said. The bank is looking more broadly at its method for stress testing, and will recalibrate positions with clients as necessary.

“We are never happy when we take a loss,” he said. “But the event is over ... and we will learn from the experience.”

The Archegos saga is likely to have regulatory repercussions, however, with a slew of U.S. watchdogs as well as the Senate Banking Committee all probing the incident to better understand why some banks were so exposed to a single client.

Gorman appeared exasperated at times during the call as he faced repeated questions from analysts about Archegos, distracting from the bank's otherwise stellar performance.

Morgan Stanley's shares were down 2.8 per cent to $78.59 in trading on Friday.

“It's not a financial event in the grand scheme of things, but it will likely raise concerns,” Oppenheimer analyst Chris Kotowski wrote in a note to clients.