Mubasher: Morgan Stanley on Thursday reported that its net income rose by almost 3% year-on-year in the third quarter of this year, while net revenues climbed by 2%, according to the bank’s earnings report.

The US bank’s net income rose to $2.11 billion in Q3-19, up from $1.78 billion in Q3-18. Earnings per diluted share (EPS) jumped by 9% year-on-year to $1.27 in the reported period from $1.17, well above the $1.11 forecast of analysts polled by Refinitiv.

Morgan Stanley generated $10.03 billion in total revenues during the period between July and September, compared with $9.87 billion in the same period last year. This came as a surprise amid a difficult quarter for other Wall Street companies, while exceeding average estimate of $9.6 billion.

Morgan Stanley, under the management of James Gorman, diversified away from trading and advisory businesses, focussing more on wealth management.

Sales and trading net revenue climbed by 10% year-on-year to $3.46 billion during the third quarter, while bond-trading desks beat forecasts, surging by 21% year-on-year to record $1.43 billion, and $320 million higher than analysts’ estimates.

This came on strong business activity in credit and government bonds during the quarter.

Meanwhile, revenue from equities business fell 1% to $1.99 billion in the three-month period ended last September, compared with $2.02 billion in the year-ago period.

“We remain committed to controlling our expenses and are well positioned to pursue our growth initiatives,” the lender’s CEO Gorman said.

Morgan Stanley is the latest of the large six banks to report earnings this week. Banks with big retail businesses generally, including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America (BoA), reported strong earnings during the quarter.