Weekly Global News Wrap: Morgan Stanley cuts 2% of its workforce; Saga floats virtual currency

And Swedbank overhauls top management after a money laundering scandal.

From CNBC:

Morgan Stanley is slashing roughly 2% of its workforce amidst a bleak economic outlook, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

Cuts will hit technology and operations roles the hardest. The investment bank had 60,352 employees as of 30 September.

The bank posted $10.1b in revenue for Q3, exceeding analysts’ forecast by approximately $500m. 

From CNBC:

UK-based blockchain firm Saga is launching its own virtual currency tied to various currencies in order to maintain stability.

But rather than creating a new basket like Facebook’s libra, the new saga (SGA) token’s value will be pegged to bank deposits in the same group that form the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) special drawing rights (SDR).

SGA also features the characteristics of a stablecoin, which seeks to avoid the volatility of other cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

From Reuters:

Swedbank chief risk officer Helo Meigas will step down as new CEO Jens Henriksson restructures after a money laundering scandal caused shares to plunge 40% last year.

Meigas will leave the bank with Baltic Banking head Charlotte Elsnitz, Swedbank said in a statement Monday. It will also merge some business units and reduce top management from 17 to 14.

Gunilla Hallros and Jon Lidefelt will take over the risk management and Baltic banking roles, respectively, in an interim capacity.  

Photo courtesy of Alex Proimos (Wikimedia Commons).