Morgan Stanley Cuts, Restructures Mortgage Biz

Morgan Stanley plans to close offices and cut several hundred staff members in its residential mortgage area but says it remains committed to the business.The company said it plans, on a net basis, to reduce U.S. positions by 500 and European posts by 100, including 90 in its U.K. mortgage subsidiary, Advantage. In addition, the Wall Street firm's three stand-alone businesses are slated to be combined into one integrated mortgage company with four centrally managed business channels: servicing, conduit, wholesale, and retail. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.morganstanley.com.