Morgan Stanley Agrees to Pay $5 Million for Reg SHO Violations in Prime Brokerage Swaps Business

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC for violations of Regulation SHO, the regulatory framework governing short sales. According to the SEC’s order, the structure of Morgan Stanley’s prime brokerage swaps business resulted in violations of Reg SHO. As set forth in the order, Morgan Stanley hedged synthetic exposure to swaps by purchasing or selling the securities referenced in the swaps, and it separated its hedges into two aggregation units – one holding only long positions, and the other holding only short positions. According to the order, Morgan Stanley was able to sell its hedges on the long swaps and mark them as “long” sales without concern for Reg SHO’s short sale requirements.