By Sam Boughedda
Speaking at the Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) US Financials, Payments, and CRE conference, Morgan Stanley Chief Executive James Gorman said he sees about a 50% risk of a recession in the US.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Gorman told the audience that “it was inevitable this inflation was not transitory, it was inevitable the Fed would have to move faster than they were projecting.”
Gorman added that “there was a legitimate recession risk. I used to think it was about 30%. It’s probably more like 50% now, it’s not 100%. It behooves you to be a little cautious.”
The Morgan Stanley chief stated that the firm has strong liquidity and capital and a sturdy credit profile, and his particular focus is, in fact, more on non-financial risks, including data stability, cybersecurity and operations risk due to the current geopolitical uncertainty.
Continuing on that line, Gorman said the fallout could damage some institutions, some “potentially fatally.” However, he feels US banks are in very good shape.
The comments come in contrast to JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon, who recently warned people to brace themselves for an economic hurricane.