MORGAN STANLEY
For the period ended Dec 31, 2023. Filed Feb 22, 2024.
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FY2023 · Filed Feb 22, 2024
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14. Commitments, Guarantees and Contingencies
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Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
- Commitments, Guarantees and Contingencies
Commitments
| $ in millions | Less than 1 | 1-3 | 3-5 | Over 5 | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lending: | |||||||
| Corporate | $17,036 | $36,214 | $54,411 | $1,134 | $108,795 | ||
| Secured lending facilities | 8,043 | 5,936 | 3,466 | 2,424 | 19,869 | ||
| Commercial and Residential real estate | 217 | 28 | 28 | 352 | 625 | ||
| Securities-based lending and Other | 16,483 | 3,488 | 319 | 394 | 20,684 | ||
| Forward-starting secured financing receivables1 | 60,261 | — | — | — | 60,261 | ||
| Central counterparty | 300 | — | — | 14,910 | 15,210 | ||
| Investment activities | 1,659 | 119 | 80 | 551 | 2,409 | ||
| Letters of credit and other financial guarantees | 51 | 17 | — | 6 | 74 | ||
| Total | $104,050 | $45,802 | $58,304 | $19,771 | $227,927 | ||
| Lending commitments participated to third parties | $7,213 | ||||||
- Forward-starting secured financing receivables are generally settled within three business days.
Since commitments associated with these instruments may expire unused, the amounts shown do not necessarily reflect the actual future cash funding requirements.
Types of Commitments
Lending Commitments. Lending commitments primarily represent the notional amount of legally binding obligations to provide funding to clients for different types of loan transactions. For syndications that are led by the Firm, the lending commitments accepted by the borrower but not yet closed are net of the amounts agreed to by counterparties that will participate in the syndication. For syndications that the Firm participates in and does not lead, lending commitments accepted by the borrower but not yet closed include only the amount that the Firm expects it will be allocated from the lead syndicate bank. Due to the nature of the Firm’s obligations under the commitments, these amounts include certain commitments participated to third parties.
Forward-Starting Secured Financing Receivables. This amount includes securities purchased under agreements to resell and securities borrowed that the Firm has entered into prior to the balance sheet date that will settle after the balance sheet date. These transactions are primarily secured by collateral from U.S. government agency securities and other sovereign government obligations when they are funded.
Central Counterparty. These commitments relate to the Firm’s membership in certain clearinghouses and are contingent upon the default of a clearinghouse member or other stress events.
Underwriting Commitments. The Firm provides underwriting commitments in connection with its capital raising sources to a diverse group of corporate and other institutional clients.
Investment Activities. The Firm sponsors several non-consolidated investment management funds for third-party investors where it typically acts as general partner of, and investment adviser to, these funds and typically commits to invest a minority of the capital of such funds, with subscribing third-party investors contributing the majority. The Firm has contractual capital commitments, guarantees and counterparty arrangements with respect to these investment management funds.
Letters of Credit and Other Financial Guarantees. The Firm has outstanding letters of credit and other financial guarantees issued by third-party banks to certain of the Firm’s counterparties. The Firm is contingently liable for these letters of credit and other financial guarantees, which are primarily used to provide collateral for securities and commodities traded and to satisfy various margin requirements in lieu of depositing cash or securities with these counterparties.
Guarantees
| At December 31, 2023 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum Potential Payout/Notional of Obligations by Years to Maturity · CarryingAmountAsset(Liability) | |||||||
| $ in millions | Less than 1 | 1-3 | 3-5 | Over 5 | |||
| Non-credit derivatives1 | 1,546,134 | 1,342,622 | 268,865 | 777,285 | (44,539) | ||
| Standby letters of credit and other financial guarantees issued2 | 1,495 | 977 | 1,322 | 2,688 | (2) | ||
| Market value guarantees | 1 | — | — | — | — | ||
| Liquidity facilities | 2,092 | — | — | — | (1) | ||
| Whole loan sales guarantees | — | 77 | 10 | 23,075 | — | ||
| Securitization representations and warranties3 | — | — | — | 80,667 | (3) | ||
| General partner guarantees | 398 | 32 | 139 | 24 | (89) | ||
| Client clearing guarantees | 228 | — | — | — | — | ||
The carrying amounts of derivative contracts that meet the accounting definition of a guarantee are shown on a gross basis. For further information on derivative contracts, see Note 6.
These amounts include certain issued standby letters of credit participated to third parties, totaling $0.9 billion of notional and collateral/recourse, due to the nature of the Firm’s obligations under these arrangements. As of December 31, 2023, the carrying amount of standby letters of credit and other financial guarantees issued includes an allowance for credit losses of $70 million.
Related to commercial and residential mortgage securitizations.
Types of Guarantees
Non-Credit Derivatives. Certain derivative contracts meet the accounting definition of a guarantee, including certain written options, contingent-forward contracts and CDS (see Note 6 regarding credit derivatives in which the Firm has sold credit protection to the counterparty which are excluded from the previous table). For non-credit derivative contracts that meet the accounting definition of a guarantee the notional amount is used as the maximum potential payout for certain derivative contracts, such as written interest rate caps and written foreign currency options. The Firm evaluates collateral requirements for all derivatives, including derivatives that do not meet the
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Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
accounting definition of a guarantee. For the effects of cash collateral and counterparty netting, see Note 6.
In certain situations, collateral may be held by the Firm for those contracts that meet the definition of a guarantee. Generally, the Firm sets collateral requirements by counterparty so that the collateral covers various transactions and products and is not allocated specifically to individual contracts. Also, the Firm may recover amounts related to the underlying asset delivered to the Firm under the derivative contract.
Standby Letters of Credit and Other Financial Guarantees Issued. Generally, in connection with its lending businesses, the Firm provides standby letters of credit and other financial guarantees to counterparties. Such arrangements represent obligations to make payments to third parties if the counterparty fails to fulfill its obligation under a borrowing arrangement or other contractual obligation. A majority of the Firm’s standby letters of credit are provided on behalf of counterparties that are investment grade. If the counterparty fails to fulfill its contractual obligation, the Firm has access to collateral or recourse that would approximate its obligation.
Market Value Guarantees. Market value guarantees are issued to guarantee timely payment of a specified return to investors in certain affordable housing tax credit funds. These guarantees are designed to return an investor’s contribution to a fund and the investor’s share of tax losses and tax credits expected to be generated by a fund.
Liquidity Facilities. The Firm has entered into liquidity facilities with SPEs and other counterparties, whereby the Firm is required to make certain payments if losses or defaults occur. Primarily, the Firm acts as liquidity provider to municipal bond securitization SPEs and for stand-alone municipal bonds in which the holders of beneficial interests issued by these SPEs or the holders of the individual bonds, respectively, have the right to tender their interests for purchase by the Firm on specified dates at a specified price. The Firm often may have recourse to the underlying assets held by the SPEs in the event payments are required under such liquidity facilities, as well as make-whole or recourse provisions with the trust sponsors. The recourse amount often exceeds the maximum potential payout amount of the guarantee. Substantially all of the underlying assets in the SPEs are investment grade. Liquidity facilities provided to municipal tender option bond trusts are classified as derivatives.
Whole Loan Sales Guarantees. The Firm has provided, or otherwise agreed to be responsible for, representations and warranties regarding certain whole loan sales. Under certain circumstances, the Firm may be required to repurchase such assets or make other payments related to such assets if such representations and warranties are breached. The Firm’s maximum potential payout related to such representations and warranties is equal to the current UPB of such loans. Since the Firm no longer services these loans, it has no information on
the current UPB of those loans, and, accordingly, the amount included in the previous table represents the UPB at the time of the whole loan sale or at the time when the Firm last serviced any of those loans. The current UPB balances could be substantially lower than the maximum potential payout amount included in the previous table. The related liability primarily relates to sales of loans to the federal mortgage agencies.
Securitization Representations and Warranties. As part of the Firm’s Institutional Securities business segment’s securitizations and related activities, the Firm has provided, or otherwise agreed to be responsible for, representations and warranties regarding certain assets transferred in securitization transactions sponsored by the Firm. The extent and nature of the representations and warranties, if any, vary among different securitizations. Under certain circumstances, the Firm may be required to repurchase certain assets or make other payments related to such assets if such representations and warranties are breached. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Firm could be required to make would be equal to the current outstanding balances of, or losses associated with, the assets subject to breaches of such representations and warranties. The amount included in the previous table for the maximum potential payout includes the current UPB or historical losses where known and the UPB at the time of sale when the current UPB is not known.
General Partner Guarantees. As a general partner in certain investment management funds, the Firm receives certain distributions from the partnerships when the return exceeds specified performance targets according to the provisions of the partnership agreements. The Firm may be required to return all or a portion of such distributions to the limited partners in the event the limited partners do not achieve a certain return as specified in the various partnership agreements, subject to certain limitations.
Client Clearing Guarantees. The Firm is a sponsoring member of the Government Securities Division of the FICC's Sponsored Clearing Model. Clients of the Firm, as sponsored members, can transact in overnight and term securities repurchase and resale agreements, which are cleared through the FICC. As sponsoring member, the Firm guarantees to the FICC the prompt and full payment and performance of its clients’ obligations. In 2020, the FICC’s sponsored clearing model was updated such that the Firm could be responsible for liquidation of a sponsored member’s account and guarantees any resulting loss to the FICC in the event the sponsored member fails to fully pay any net liquidation amount due from the sponsored member to the FICC. Accordingly, the Firm’s maximum potential payout amount reflects the total of the estimated net liquidation amounts for sponsored member accounts. The Firm minimizes credit exposure under this guarantee by obtaining a security interest in its sponsored member clients’ collateral and their contractual rights under sponsored member transactions. Therefore, the Firm's exposure is estimated to be an amount substantially lower than the maximum potential payout
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amount. The collateral amount in which the Firm has a security interest is approximately equal to the maximum potential payout amount of the guarantee.
Other Guarantees and Indemnities
In the normal course of business, the Firm provides guarantees and indemnifications in a variety of transactions. These provisions generally are standard contractual terms. Certain of these guarantees and indemnifications are described below:
Indemnities. The Firm provides standard indemnities to counterparties for certain contingent exposures and taxes, including U.S. and foreign withholding taxes, on interest and other payments made on derivatives, securities and stock lending transactions, certain annuity products and other financial arrangements. These indemnity payments could be required based on a change in the tax laws, a change in interpretation of applicable tax rulings or a change in factual circumstances. Certain contracts contain provisions that enable the Firm to terminate the agreement upon the occurrence of such events. The Firm may also provide indemnities when it sells a business or assets to a third-party, pursuant to which it indemnifies the third-party for losses incurred on assets acquired or liabilities assumed or due to actions taken by the Firm prior to the sale of the business or assets. The Firm expects the risk of loss associated with indemnities related to the sale of businesses or assets to be remote. The maximum potential amount of future payments that the Firm could be required to make under these indemnifications cannot be estimated.
Exchange/Clearinghouse Member Guarantees. The Firm is a member of various exchanges and clearinghouses that trade and clear securities and/or derivative contracts. Associated with its membership, the Firm may be required to pay a certain amount as determined by the exchange or the clearinghouse in case of a default of any of its members or pay a proportionate share of the financial obligations of another member that may default on its obligations to the exchange or the clearinghouse. While the rules governing different exchange or clearinghouse memberships and the forms of these guarantees may vary, in general the Firm’s obligations under these rules would arise only if the exchange or clearinghouse had previously exhausted its resources.
In addition, some clearinghouse rules require members to assume a proportionate share of losses resulting from the clearinghouse’s investment of guarantee fund contributions and initial margin and of other losses unrelated to the default of a clearing member, if such losses exceed the specified resources allocated for such purpose by the clearinghouse.
The maximum potential payout under these rules cannot be estimated. The Firm has not recorded any contingent liability in its financial statements for these agreements and
believes that any potential requirement to make payments under these agreements is remote.
Merger and Acquisition Guarantees. The Firm may, from time to time, in its role as investment banking advisor be required to provide guarantees in connection with certain European merger and acquisition transactions. If required by the regulating authorities, the Firm provides a guarantee that the acquirer in the transaction has or will have sufficient funds to complete the transaction and would then be required to make the acquisition payments in the event the acquirer’s funds are insufficient at the completion date of the transaction. These arrangements generally cover the time frame from the transaction offer date to its closing date and, therefore, are generally short term in nature. The Firm believes the likelihood of any payment by the Firm under these arrangements is remote given the level of its due diligence in its role as investment banking advisor.
In addition, in the ordinary course of business, the Firm guarantees the debt and/or certain trading obligations (including obligations associated with derivatives, foreign exchange contracts and the settlement of physical commodities) of certain subsidiaries. These guarantees generally are entity or product specific and are required by investors or trading counterparties. The activities of the Firm’s subsidiaries covered by these guarantees (including any related debt or trading obligations) are included in the financial statements.
Finance Subsidiary
The Parent Company fully and unconditionally guarantees the securities issued by Morgan Stanley Finance LLC, a wholly owned finance subsidiary. No other subsidiary of the Parent Company guarantees these securities.
Contingencies
Legal
In addition to the matters described below, in the normal course of business, the Firm has been named, from time to time, as a defendant in various legal actions, including arbitrations, class actions and other litigation, arising in connection with its activities as a global diversified financial services institution. Certain of the actual or threatened legal actions include claims for substantial compensatory and/or punitive damages or claims for indeterminate amounts of damages. In some cases, the third-party entities that are, or would otherwise be, the primary defendants in such cases are bankrupt, in financial distress, or may not honor applicable indemnification obligations. These actions have included, but are not limited to, antitrust claims, claims under various false claims act statutes, and matters arising from our sales and trading businesses and our activities in the capital markets.
The Firm is also involved, from time to time, in other reviews, investigations and proceedings (both formal and informal) by
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Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
governmental and self-regulatory agencies regarding the Firm’s business, and involving, among other matters, sales, trading, financing, prime brokerage, market-making activities, investment banking advisory services, capital markets activities, financial products or offerings sponsored, underwritten or sold by the Firm, wealth and investment management services, and accounting and operational matters, certain of which may result in adverse judgments, settlements, fines, penalties, disgorgement, restitution, forfeiture, injunctions, limitations on our ability to conduct certain business, or other relief.
The Firm contests liability and/or the amount of damages as appropriate in each pending matter. Where available information indicates that it is probable a liability had been incurred at the date of the financial statements and the Firm can reasonably estimate the amount of that loss or the range of loss, the Firm accrues an estimated loss by a charge to income, including with respect to certain of the individual proceedings or investigations described below.
| $ in millions | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal expenses | $488 | $443 | $157 |
The Firm’s legal expenses can, and may in the future, fluctuate from period to period, given the current environment regarding government or self-regulatory agency investigations and private litigation affecting global financial services firms, including the Firm.
In many legal proceedings and investigations, it is inherently difficult to determine whether any loss is probable or reasonably possible, or to estimate the amount of any loss. In addition, even where the Firm has determined that a loss is probable or reasonably possible or an exposure to loss or range of loss exists in excess of the liability already accrued with respect to a previously recognized loss contingency, the Firm is often unable to reasonably estimate the amount of the loss or range of loss. It is particularly difficult to determine if a loss is probable or reasonably possible, or to estimate the amount of loss, where the factual record is being developed or contested or where plaintiffs or government entities seek substantial or indeterminate damages, restitution, forfeiture, disgorgement or penalties. Numerous issues may need to be resolved in an investigation or proceeding before a determination can be made that a loss or additional loss (or range of loss or range of additional loss) is probable or reasonably possible, or to estimate the amount of loss, including through potentially lengthy discovery or determination of important factual matters, determination of issues related to class certification, the calculation of damages or other relief, and consideration of novel or unsettled legal questions relevant to the proceedings or investigations in question.
The Firm has identified below any individual proceedings or investigations where the Firm believes a material loss (or where an accrual has occurred, a material loss beyond the
amount already accrued) to be reasonably possible. In many legal proceedings in which the Firm has determined that a material loss (or where an accrual has occurred, a material loss beyond the amount already accrued) is reasonably possible, the Firm is unable to reasonably estimate the loss or range of loss. There are other matters in which the Firm has determined a loss or range of loss to be reasonably possible, but the Firm does not believe, based on current knowledge and after consultation with counsel, that such losses could have a material adverse effect on the Firm’s financial statements as a whole, although the outcome of such proceedings or investigations may significantly impact the Firm’s business or results of operations for any particular reporting period, or cause significant reputational harm.
While the Firm has identified below certain proceedings or investigations that the Firm believes to be material, individually or collectively, there can be no assurance that material losses will not be incurred from claims that have not yet been asserted or those where potential losses have not yet been determined to be probable or reasonably possible.
Block Trading Matter
On January 12, 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (“USAO”) and the SEC announced they had reached settlement agreements with the Firm in connection with their investigations into the Firm’s blocks business. Specifically, the Firm entered into athree-year non-prosecution agreement (“NPA”) with the USAO that included the payment of forfeiture, restitution, and a criminal fine for making false statements in connection with the sale of certain block trades from 2018 through August 2021. The NPA required the Firm to admit responsibility for certain acts of its employees and to continue to cooperate with and provide certain information to the USAO for the term of the agreement. Additionally, the SEC charged the Firm with violations of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5(b) thereunder for the disclosure of confidential information about block trades and also violations of Section 15(g) of the Exchange Act for the failure to enforce its policies concerning the misuse of material non-public information related to block trades. As part of the SEC agreement, the Firm paid disgorgement and a civil penalty. After the agreed-upon credits were applied, the Firm paid a total amount of approximately $249 million under both settlements. The Firm also faces potential civil liability arising from claims that have been or may be asserted by, among others, block transaction participants who contend they were harmed or disadvantaged including, among other things, as a result of a share price decline allegedly caused by the activities of the Firm and/or its employees, or as a result of the Firm’s and/or its employees’ failure to adhere to applicable laws and regulations. In addition, the Firm has responded to demands from shareholders under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law for books and records concerning the investigations.
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Antitrust Related Matters
The Firm and other financial institutions are responding to a number of governmental investigations and civil litigation matters related to allegations of anticompetitive conduct in various aspects of the financial services industry, including the matters described below.
Beginning in February of 2016, the Firm was named as a defendant in multiple purported antitrust class actions now consolidated into a single proceeding in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) styled In Re: Interest Rate Swaps Antitrust Litigation. Plaintiffs allege, inter alia, that the Firm, together with a number of other financial institution defendants, violated U.S. and New York state antitrust laws from 2008 through December of 2016 in connection with their alleged efforts to prevent the development of electronic exchange-based platforms for interest rate swaps trading. Complaints were filed both on behalf of a purported class of investors who purchased interest rate swaps from defendants, as well as on behalf of three operators of swap execution facilities that allegedly were thwarted by the defendants in their efforts to develop such platforms. The consolidated complaints seek, among other relief, certification of the investor class of plaintiffs and treble damages. On July 28, 2017, the court granted in part and denied in part the defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaints. On December 15, 2023, the court denied the class plaintiffs’ motion for class certification. On December 29, 2023, the class plaintiffs petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for leave to appeal that decision.
In August of 2017, the Firm was named as a defendant in a purported antitrust class action in the United States District Court for the SDNY styled Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System et al. v. Bank of America Corporation et al. Plaintiffs allege, inter alia, that the Firm, together with a number of other financial institution defendants, violated U.S. antitrust laws and New York state law in connection with their alleged efforts to prevent the development of electronic exchange-based platforms for securities lending. The class action complaint was filed on behalf of a purported class of borrowers and lenders who entered into stock loan transactions with the defendants. The class action complaint seeks, among other relief, certification of the class of plaintiffs and treble damages. On September 27, 2018, the court denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss the class action complaint. Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification was referred by the District Court to a magistrate judge who, on June 30, 2022, issued a report and recommendation that the District Court certify a class. On May 20, 2023, the Firm reached an agreement in principle to settle the litigation. On September 1, 2023, the court granted preliminary approval of the settlement.
The Firm is a defendant in three antitrust class action complaints which have been consolidated into one proceeding
in the United States District Court for the SDNY under the caption City of Philadelphia, et al. v. Bank of America Corporation, et al. Plaintiffs allege, inter alia, that the Firm, along with a number of other financial institution defendants, violated U.S. antitrust laws and relevant state laws in connection with alleged efforts to artificially inflate interest rates for Variable Rate Demand Obligations (“VRDO”). Plaintiffs seek, among other relief, treble damages. The class action complaint was filed on behalf of a class of municipal issuers of VRDO for which defendants served as remarketing agent. On November 2, 2020, the court granted in part and denied in part the defendants’ motion to dismiss the consolidated complaint, dismissing state law claims, but denying dismissal of the U.S. antitrust claims. On September 21, 2023, the court granted plaintiffs’ motion for class certification. On October 5, 2023, defendants petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for leave to appeal that decision, which was granted on February 5, 2024.
Qui Tam Matters
The Firm and other financial institutions are defending against qui tam litigations brought under various state false claims statutes, including the matter described below. Such matters may involve the same types of claims pursued in multiple jurisdictions and may include claims for treble damages.
On August 18, 2009, Relators Roger Hayes and C. Talbot Heppenstall, Jr., filed a qui tam action in New Jersey state court styled State of New Jersey ex. rel. Hayes v. Bank of America Corp., et al. The complaint, filed under seal pursuant to the New Jersey False Claims Act, alleged that the Firm and several other underwriters of municipal bonds had defrauded New Jersey issuers by misrepresenting that they would achieve the best price or lowest cost of capital in connection with certain municipal bond issuances. On March 17, 2016, the court entered an order unsealing the complaint. On November 17, 2017, Relators filed an amended complaint to allege the Firm mispriced certain bonds issued in twenty-three bond offerings between 2008 and 2017, having a total par amount of $6.9 billion. The complaint seeks, among other relief, treble damages. On February 22, 2018, the Firm moved to dismiss the amended complaint, and on July 17, 2018, the court denied the Firm’s motion. On October 13, 2021, following a series of voluntary and involuntary dismissals, Relators limited their claims to certain bonds issued in five offerings the Firm underwrote between 2008 and 2011, having a total par amount of $3.9 billion. On August 22, 2023, the Firm reached an agreement in principle to settle the litigation.
European Matters
Tax
In matters styled Case number 15/3637 and Case number 15/4353, the Dutch Tax Authority (“Dutch Authority”) is challenging in the Dutch courts the prior set-off by the Firm
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of approximately €124 million (approximately $137 million) plus accrued interest of withholding tax credits against the Firm’s corporation tax liabilities for the tax years 2007 to 2012. The Dutch Authority alleges that the Firm was not entitled to receive the withholding tax credits on the basis, inter alia, that a Firm subsidiary did not hold legal title to certain securities subject to withholding tax on the relevant dates. The Dutch Authority has also alleged that the Firm failed to provide certain information to the Dutch Authority and to keep adequate books and records. On April 26, 2018, the District Court in Amsterdam issued a decision dismissing the Dutch Authority’s claims with respect to certain of the tax years in dispute. On May 12, 2020, the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam granted the Dutch Authority's appeal in matters re-styled Case number 18/00318 and Case number 18/00319. On January 19, 2024, the Dutch High Court granted the Firm’s appeal in matters re-styled Case number 20/01884 and referred the case to the Court of Appeal in The Hague.
On June 22, 2021, Dutch criminal authorities sought various documents in connection with an investigation of the Firm related to the civil claims asserted by the Dutch Authority concerning the accuracy of the Firm subsidiary’s tax returns and the maintenance of its books and records for 2007 to 2012. The Dutch criminal authorities have requested additional information, and the Firm is continuing to respond to them in connection with their ongoing investigation.
Danish Underwriting Matter
On October 5, 2017, various institutional investors filed a claim against the Firm and another bank in a matter now styled Case number B-803-18 (previously BS 99-6998/2017), in the City Court of Copenhagen, Denmark concerning their roles as underwriters of the initial public offering (“IPO”) in March 2014 of the Danish company OW Bunker A/S. The claim seeks damages of approximately DKK 529 million (approximately $79 million) plus interest in respect of alleged losses arising from investing in shares in OW Bunker, which entered into bankruptcy in November 2014. Separately, on November 29, 2017, another group of institutional investors joined the Firm and another bank as defendants to pending proceedings in the High Court of Eastern Denmark against various other parties involved in the IPO in a matter styled Case number B-2073-16. The claim brought against the Firm and the other bank has been given its own Case number B-2564-17. The investors claim damages of approximately DKK 767 million (approximately $114 million) plus interest from the Firm and the other bank on a joint and several basis with the Defendants to these proceedings. Both claims are based on alleged prospectus liability; the second claim also alleges professional liability of banks acting as financial intermediaries. On June 8, 2018, the City Court of Copenhagen, Denmark ordered that the matters now styled Case number B-803-18, Case number B-2073-16, and Case number B-2564-17 be heard together before the High Court of Eastern Denmark. On June 29, 2018, the Firm filed its defense to the matter now styled Case number B-2564-17. On
February 4, 2019, the Firm filed its defense to the matter now styled Case number B-803-18.
U.K. Government Bond Matter
The Firm is engaging with the UK Competition and Markets Authority in connection with its investigation of suspected anti-competitive arrangements in the financial services sector, specifically regarding the Firm's activities concerning certain liquid fixed income products between 2009 and 2012. On May 24, 2023, the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority issued a Statement of Objections setting out its provisional findings that the Firm had breached U.K. competition law by sharing competitively sensitive information in connection with gilts and gilt asset swaps between 2009 and 2012. The Firm is contesting the provisional findings. Separately, on June 16, 2023, the Firm was named as a defendant in a purported antitrust class action in the United States District Court for the SDNY styled Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System v. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft, et al., alleging, inter alia, that the Firm, together with a number of other financial institution defendants, violated U.S. antitrust laws in connection with their alleged effort to fix prices of gilts traded in the United States between 2009 and 2013. On September 28, 2023, the defendants filed a joint motion to dismiss the complaint, which has been fully briefed.
Other
On August 13, 2021, the plaintiff in Camelot Event Driven Fund, a Series of Frank Funds Trust v. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, et al. filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County ("Supreme Court of NY") a purported class action complaint alleging violations of the federal securities laws against ViacomCBS (“Viacom”), certain of its officers and directors, and the underwriters, including the Firm, of two March 2021 Viacom offerings: a $1.7 billion Viacom Class B Common Stock offering and a $1 billion offering of 5.75% Series A Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock (collectively, the “Offerings”). The complaint alleges, inter alia, that the Viacom offering documents for both issuances contained material omissions because they did not disclose that certain of the underwriters, including the Firm, had prime brokerage relationships and served as counterparties to certain derivative transactions with Archegos Capital Management LP, (“Archegos”), a fund with significant exposure to Viacom securities across multiple prime brokers. The complaint, which seeks, among other things, unspecified compensatory damages, alleges that the offering documents did not adequately disclose the risks associated with Archegos’s concentrated Viacom positions at the various prime brokers, including that the unwind of those positions could have a deleterious impact on the stock price of Viacom. On November 5, 2021, the complaint was amended to add allegations that defendants failed to disclose that certain underwriters, including the Firm, had intended to unwind Archegos’s Viacom positions while simultaneously distributing the Offerings. On February 6, 2023, the court issued a decision denying the motions to dismiss as to the
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Firm and the other underwriters, but granted the motion to dismiss as to Viacom and the Viacom individual defendants. On February 15, 2023, the underwriters, including the Firm, filed their notices of appeal of the denial of their motions to dismiss. On March 10, 2023, the plaintiff appealed the dismissal of Viacom and the individual Viacom defendants. On January 4, 2024, the court granted the plaintiff’s motion for class certification. On February 14, 2024, the defendants filed their notice of appeal.
On May 17, 2013, the plaintiff in IKB International S.A. in Liquidation, et al. v. Morgan Stanley, et al. filed a complaint against the Firm and certain affiliates in the Supreme Court of NY. The complaint alleges that defendants made material misrepresentations and omissions in the sale to plaintiff of certain mortgage pass-through certificates backed by securitization trusts containing residential mortgage loans. The total amount of certificates allegedly sponsored, underwritten and/or sold by the Firm to plaintiffs was approximately $133 million. The complaint alleges causes of action against the Firm for common law fraud, fraudulent concealment, aiding and abetting fraud, and negligent misrepresentation, and seeks, among other things, compensatory and punitive damages. On October 29, 2014, the court granted in part and denied in part the Firm’s motion to dismiss. All claims regarding four certificates were dismissed. After these dismissals, the remaining amount of certificates allegedly issued by the Firm or sold to plaintiffs by the Firm was approximately $116 million. On August 11, 2016, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the trial court’s order denying in part the Firm’s motion to dismiss the complaint. On July 15, 2022, the Firm filed a motion for summary judgment on all remaining claims. On March 1, 2023, the court granted in part and denied in part the Firm’s motion for summary judgment, narrowing the alleged misrepresentations at issue in the case. On March 14, 2023, the Firm filed its notice of appeal, and on March 21, 2023, plaintiffs filed their notice of cross appeal.
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