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Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) To Close 300 Branches, Cut Jobs
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to recent reports, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) has plans to close 300 branch offices and reduce its workforce by up to 1,200 over the next year. The move comes as the bank looks to cut costs and better integrate the resources of its brokerage business with those of Citigroup’s Smith Barney unit; the two merged last year.
The plan aims to create $1.1 billion in savings by the end of 2011, according to a Fox Business Network report. When Morgan Stanley merged with the Smith Barney unit, the bank became the largest broker network, with 18,000 advisors, topping Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) with roughly 15,000.
Morgan Stanley has already eliminated 200 jobs since the merger, mainly support staff. However, the coming cuts could spread further, according to the Fox report. For instance, both brokerages’ have a research analyst staff that write up reports for customers.
Morgan Stanley acquired Citigroup’s Smith Barney unit in early 2009 in a move to increase its retail brokerage business.
This article (Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) To Close 300 Branches, Cut Jobs) was originally developed by and is property of American Banking News. Checkout American Banking News for up-to-date banking news and peer to peer lending news.
U.S. banking institutions spent $1.8 million on lobbyists during the first quarter as they aimed to get their voices heard in regard to the financial regulation overhaul. The American Bankers Association reported the amount, which was paid by its members, including Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup (NYSE: C), JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), among others.
The American Bankers Association is the industry’s largest trade group and disclosed the information in a disclosure document, which is required under a federal law established in 1995.
For its member, the trade group has lobbied Congress on the financial regulation reform, along with several other industry items to come under review in recent months. The group took part in lobbying activities in regard to the new credit card laws associated with the CARD Act.
Lobbying dollars did fall though, down from the $2.2 million spent in the fourth quarter of 2009 and $1.9 million in the first quarter of 2009.
This article (Bank Of America (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Several Others Spend Total Of $1.8 Million Lobbying In Q1) was originally developed by and is property of American Banking News. Checkout American Banking News for up-to-date banking news and peer to peer lending news.
JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) London Unit Hit With Record Fine
Posted by: | CommentsBritish financial regulators hit the London unit of JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) with a record 33.3 million pound ($48.8 million) fine for comingling a portion of client money with firm capital. According to the Financial Services Authority (FSA), JP Morgan Securities Ltd (JPMSL) failed to separate all funds between November 2002 and July 2009.
During that time frame JPMSL held funds ranging from $1.9 billion to $23 billion. If the firm had run into financial trouble at any point in that period, client money would have been at risk of loss, according to the FSA.
“JPMSL committed a serious breach of our client money rules by failing to segregate billions of dollars of its clients’ money for nearly seven years. The penalty reflects the amount of client money involved in this breach,” said FSA Director Margaret Cole.
“The FSA has repeatedly emphasised the importance of ensuring that client money is adequately protected. Despite being one of the largest holders of client money in the UK, JPMSL failed to do so,” added Cole.
JP Morgan avoided a larger fine from the FSA by being proactive about the issue, first stating last August that 8.5 billion pounds of client money may had been mixed with its own funds. An auditor was hired at the time to review accounts of JPMSL.
The issue of keeping client funds and company funds separate flared up after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.
This article (JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) London Unit Hit With Record Fine) was originally developed by and is property of American Banking News. Checkout American Banking News for up-to-date banking news and peer to peer lending news.