NEW YORK, Oct 2: Morgan Stanley said on Tuesday it is scaling back its residential mortgage business and cutting nearly 600 jobs globally as it repositions to deal with turmoil in the housing-related credit sector.

The restructuring will consolidate its three stand-alone mortgage businesses in the United States — Saxon Capital, Morgan Stanley Credit Corp, and Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Holdings — and Britain-based mortgage subsidiary Advantage, under a single platform.

Morgan Stanley said the move was undertaken “to reflect current market conditions and to position the business for long-term growth.”

The restructuring will eliminate some 500 jobs in the US and about 100 in Europe, including 90 from Advantage.

“Morgan Stanley remains committed to building the leading vertically integrated mortgage business and growing our Saxon Capital servicing operations despite the cyclical downturn in the mortgage markets,” said Tony Tufariello, managing director and global head of securitized products.—AFP