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Monitor: Morgan Stanley is on Its Way

Money Jar BHAn independent monitor has credited Morgan Stanley with fulfilling approximately 27 percent of its consumer relief obligation under the terms of a February 2016 RMBS settlement with the New York State Attorney General, according to a report from the monitor [1].

Eric D. Green, a retired Boston University law professor and independent monitor of Morgan Stanley’s settlement, said he has reviewed and conditionally approved approximately $100.2 million in consumer relief activity for Morgan Stanley since early August.

This was Green’s second report on Morgan Stanley’s activity regarding the settlement; in the first report, issued August 9 last year, he credited the investment banking firm with $10.5 million worth of conditional credit. The combined total gives Morgan Stanley $110.7 million in conditional credit (27 percent) toward fulfilling its $400 million settlement obligation, according to Green. Credit is conditional upon Green’s final approval when Morgan Stanley’s total obligation is fulfilled under the terms of the settlement.

Green stated that Morgan Stanley is “off to a good start,” toward satisfying the terms of the settlement as a result of the relief provided from August to December. Morgan Stanley provided consumer relief under three menu items (covering five categories) under the Settlement Agreement, with the largest portion ($57.6 million, more than half) coming in the form of the forgiveness of 502 second-lien loans. According to Green, 302 of those loans were located in areas designed by HUD as Hardest Hit Areas, or those that suffered the worst economic damage as a result of the crisis in 2008.

1-3-morgan-stanley-graphIn February 2016, Morgan Stanley agreed to provide $550 million for violations with regard to the packaging and selling of mortgage-backed securities. The settlement terms call for Morgan Stanley to provide $400 million to be distributed by the State of New York by September 2019, according to Green.

Morgan Stanley is not the only financial institution that has made major progress toward fulfilling an RMBS settlement obligation. In early December, Green reported [2] that Bank of America had paid close to 97 percent of its $7 billion consumer relief obligation under the terms of its $16.65 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and six states in August 2014 over toxic RMBS sales before the crisis. Bank of America has until August 2018 to pay off the remainder of the obligation.

Click here [1] to read the monitor’s full report on Morgan Stanley.