New bank rules prompting global banks to cut their derivatives businesses didn’t stop Morgan Stanley from buying billions in risky assets to bolster its fixed-income revenue, reports Bloomberg.
“The bank bought credit-correlation positions with a notional value of more than $50 billion over the past three years, four people with knowledge of the transactions said,” explains Bloomberg. Meanwhile, “global banks are shrinking or shutting correlation units as new regulations force them to hold more equity against the positions.”