Credit squeeze claims another casualty

Investment bank, Morgan Stanley, has announced that 52-year-old Zoe Cruz is to retire. Analysts believe the move is due to the US sub-prime crisis.

Earlier this month, the bank announced a $3.7 billion (£1.76 billion) loss from exposure to the US sub-prime mortgage markets.

Ms Cruz was seen as one of the most powerful women in the financial world and has been with the firm for 25 years and was nicknamed ‘Cruz Missile’.

She follows a string of top executives to leave various investment banks over recent weeks. Merrill Lynch chief executive, Stan O’Neal, departed at the end of October while, Charles Prince, resigned from Citigroup earlier this month.

Last year, Ms Cruz was paid $30 million (£14.5 million), making her number one on Fortune magazine’s list of the 25 highest-paid corporate women.

Morgan Stanley is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings in mid-December. Analysts predict it will report a profit of 2 cents per share on $5.6 billion of revenue.

Shares in the bank are down approximately 23% this year as investors have sold off Wall Street institutions that have been slammed by credit problems.

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