![James Gorman, chief executive of Morgan Stanley. The US bank's securities unit has had its best ever year](https://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/FN-AM412_FN_Jam_M_20210120091449.jpg)
Surging revenues in Morgan Stanley's investment bank drove a record full-year profit of $11bn, showing its ongoing reliance on its Wall Street roots even as chief executive James Gorman expands into new business lines.
Morgan Stanley posted revenues of $48.2bn, the best ever performance at the bank as its institutional securities unit also unveiled record profit of $25.9bn, fuelled by strong performance in its sales and trading division. The profit figure was a gain on $9bn in income for 2019.