Moody's affirmed Morgan Stanley's A3 senior unsecured debt and issuer ratings.

Among the ratings affirmed by the rating agency were the A1 long-term deposit and long-term issuer ratings and the P-1 short-term deposit and short-term issuer ratings of Morgan Stanley Bank NA and Morgan Stanley Private Bank NA; the A1 long-term issuer and P-1 short-term issuer ratings of Morgan Stanley Europe SE, Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc., Morgan Stanley Capital Services LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. International Plc; the A1 long-term deposit, P-1 short-term deposit and A1 issuer ratings of Morgan Stanley Bank AG and Morgan Stanley Bank International Ltd.; and Morgan Stanley Finance LLC's A3 backed issuer rating.

The outlooks on Morgan Stanley's ratings and that of its subsidiaries were changed to positive from stable.

Morgan Stanley's A3 ratings are derived from the "baa2" baseline credit assessment of its lead bank, Morgan Stanley Bank NA, and a notch of affiliate support from its largest shareholder and strategic partner, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., according to the rating agency. The ratings also reflect the benefit senior debt holders will likely achieve from the substantial amount of holding company senior debt outstanding and the amount of debt subordinated to it.

Moody's said the change in outlook reflects the company's broadly consistent strategy and strong financial performance, including its trend of improved profitability and favorable capital and liquidity positions.