
Morgan Stanley: This Block-Trading Probe Is So Not News

- Author:Jon Shazar
- Publish date:Feb 25, 2022
At least, it’s not news to them.
A couple of weeks ago, it emerged that the Securities and Exchange Commission had turned its ever-eager eye to block trading, and whether that common and lucrative Wall Street practice was little more than an opportunity for the well connected to insider-trade. Specifically, those well-connected to Morgan Stanley’s equity syndicate desk.
Given the potential implications, this seemed like pretty big news. But it was not news to Morgan Stanley.
In its annual report, Morgan Stanley said that it has been responding to requests for information from the Securities and Exchange Commission “in connection with an investigation of various aspects of the firm’s block trading business”, beginning in June 2019.
Huh, isn’t that the kind of thing that a publicly-traded company perhaps might have been expected to disclose, oh, we don’t know, in 2019?
A Morgan Stanley spokesperson declined to comment on why the bank was disclosing the inquiries now.
And, in fairness to the House of Gorman, there is some news in the matter, relatively speaking.
Since August 2021, Morgan Stanley said it has also fielded requests for information from the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York regarding an investigation into block trades, a way to sell bulk volumes of stock.
Morgan Stanley discloses twin probes into big stock transactions [FT]
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Tagsterms:lawMorgan Stanelyinsider-tradingSECBanksRegulationJustice DepartmentBy Jon Shazar![By US government [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://dealbreaker.com/.image/ar_16:9%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cg_faces:center%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTYxMjc3NjkyNDM5MzczMzAx/gensler.jpg)
Block trading is getting the old Garland-Gensler double-team.

At least one company did not enjoy having its shares dumped, it says in lawsuit form.

It’s a question he can answer now!
![By Chris Potter (Flickr: 3D Judges Gavel) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons](https://dealbreaker.com/.image/ar_16:9%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cg_faces:center%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTYxMjc3MTIzODkyNjg0Mjc3/gavel.jpg)
At least, they say no one can question whether they’re doing it, which is just as good.

All at once. In the form of some very large checks to the Justice Department and SEC.

It’s clock-striking-midnight dealmaking time at the Justice Department.

In fairness, a fine at the end of a U.S. criminal inquiry may actually be the best news the Germans have heard in months.

At least when it comes to paying its brokers.
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Originally posted on: https://dealbreaker.com/2022/02/morgan-stanley-discloses-block-trading-probe