The Federal Reserve is weighing further restrictions on banks’ trading and warehousing of physical commodities as Congress scrutinizes potential conflicts of interest and manipulation in those markets. The central bank said recent accidents and natural disasters have increased concerns about the businesses.
Morgan Stanley agreed last month to sell a unit that stores, trades and transports oil products to a subsidiary of Russia’s OAO Rosneft. Porat said that unit broke even last year on a pretax basis. The firm has also said it’s exploring strategic options for its stake in TransMontaigne Inc., the Denver-based petroleum and chemical transportation and storage company.
Investment Banking
Investment banking, led by Mark Eichorn and Franck Petitgas, generated $1.36 billion in fourth-quarter revenue. That figure, up 11 percent from a year earlier, included $451 million from financial advisory, $416 million from equity underwriting and $495 million from debt underwriting.
Morgan Stanley was the second-ranked adviser on global announced mergers and acquisitions in 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It was the No. 3 underwriter of global equity, equity-linked and rights offerings, the data show.
Asset management reported a pretax gain of $337 million, compared with $221 million in the previous year’s period.