Morgan Stanley profits plunged as the global pandemic stalled dealmaking.
Julian Satterthwaite reports.
Profits have plunged at Morgan Stanley.
The U.S. bank saw quarterly earnings fall 30% as the global pandemic stalled dealmaking.
Chief executive James Gorman says this year has been worse than any time since the global financial crisis.
And the bank warns there's more pain to come.
Morgan Stanley's move to buy discount brokerage E*Trade Financial was one of the few big acquisitions in the quarter.
But, coming amid the global virus crisis, Gorman now has to justify the spending.
The only bright spot in the period were the bank's trading desks.
Revenue there surged 30%, helped by the wild swings in markets over the quarter.
Morgan Stanley's numbers cap a miserable quarter for US banks, which have reported big declines in profit and set aside billions to cover for expected loan defaults.
Quarterly profit plummeted at JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, as two of the U.S.' largest banks set aside massive reserves to cover..