Morgan Stanley’s Australian business recorded a slump in profit last year as investment banking fees were stung by the worst 12 months for local mergers and acquisitions in 10 years.
Morgan Stanley Australia’s profits have slumped after a year where Wall Street banks cut jobs and limited bonuses to combat a slowdown in mergers and capital raisings.Total fees and commissions fell to $26.4 million from $32.9 million in 2022, while fees from Morgan Stanley’s investment banking advisory and underwriting activities dropped to $9.9 million from $14.5 million a year earlier.
Total fees reached $US2.2 billion across M&A, equity and debt capital markets, a 31 per cent decline on 2022, research from LSEG Data & Analytics showed. To combat the slump in revenue last year, investment banks – includingJefferies’ Australian business also suffered from the slowdown in 2023. The US investment bank’s local business recorded $7.8 million in profit for the year ending in November, down from $36 million in 2022, statements filed with ASIC last month showed.