Morgan Stanley reports Highest Profit since 2007’s second quarter

On Monday, Morgan Stanley reported its most profitable quarter since the financial crisis. According to Thomson Reuters data, it was the financial major's most profitable quarter since the second quarter of 2007. The profit of the Wall Street investment bank was enhanced by higher revenue from trading bonds and equities.

The bank's trading business got a boost after the Swiss central bank scrapped the cap on the franc, the European Central Bank announced its quantitative easing program and the US Federal Reserve took steps to tighten monetary policy.

There was also a strong performance by global stocks. The firm's net profit rose up to 60% and profit of Goldman Sachs jumped to 41%.

Morgan Stanley's focus is less on bond markets and more on managing money for the rich. The bank wants to help to free up capital and meet stricter regulatory rules imposed since the financial crisis.

Net income applicable to the bank's common shareholders rose to $2.31 billion, or $1.18 per share, in the quarter, from $1.45 billion, or 74 cents per share, a year earlier. Net revenue rose 10.3% to $9.78 billion, beating the average estimate of $9.17 billion.

The firm's shares were up 0.4% at $36.91 in early trading after being up as much as about 2.6% before the opening bell. The bank was able to achieve an adjusted average return-on-equity of 10.1% above the 10% minimum set by Gorman as the bank focuses more on returns than revenue.

There was 6.2% rise in revenue from wealth management. Pre-tax income from the business rose 24.6% to $855 million for a margin of 22%, within the expected year-end range. Adjusted revenue from equities sales and trading rose by a third to $2.27 billion.