Morgan Stanley Cut European exposure

Morgan Stanley (MS) sliced its gross exposure to stressed European debt by 25% from the 3Q and nearly in half from Dec. 31 as the investment bank said it "executed certain derivative restructuring amendments," which settled on Jan 3. MS now has $4.3B in gross funded exposure, down from $5.7B in the 3Q. MS also added un-funded lending to its country risk disclosure this time around, a figure that includes lines of credit the borrower hasn't drawn yet. With that figure, the firm's gross exposure was $5B. Upon completion of the restructuring trade, MS also pared down its exposure to Italy, which fell to $2.9B on a gross basis from $6.3B. MS up 4.6% at $18.16.