The New York investment bank earned USD 433 million, or 20 cents a share, in the final three months of 2013. That compared to USD 982 million, or 49 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding litigation costs and a tax benefit, the bank earned 50 cents a share, beating the 44 cents forecast by Wall Street analysts. The results also exclude accounting adjustments related to the value of the bank's debt.
Morgan Stanley reported legal expenses of USD 1.2 billion related to mortgage-backed securities lawsuits and investigations for the quarter.
JPMorgan on Tuesday reported results that were affected by legal expenses, and Citigroup today said that it had USD 800 million in legal costs in the fourth quarter and that it expected those kinds of expenses to continue for the industry. Morgan Stanley's revenue rose 9 per cent to USD 8.2 billion from USD 7.5 billion in the fourth quarter, beating analysts' forecasts of USD 8.02 billion.
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"Our fourth-quarter results demonstrated the consistency embedded in our business model, as revenues increased year-over-year in all three of our business segments," James Gorman, the bank's CEO, said in prepared remarks.
Revenue at Morgan Stanley's Institutional Securities unit edged higher to USD 3.7 billion from USD 3.6 billion a year ago, boosted by a big increase in stock underwriting as the market for initial public offerings improved. Bond underwriting fees fell slightly as investment-grade bond sales declined.
In line with other big banks that reported earnings this week, Morgan Stanley said revenue from its bond trading business fell.
Morgan Stanley's wealth management unit brought in more fees, and clients moved more assets to the bank. Morgan Stanley has been building out its wealth management business to reduce its reliance on trading and sales revenues.