15. Strategic Challenges

Shortly before Sandy Warner became CEO in 1995, senior management assessed progress in implementing the strategic plan. The encouraging news was Morgan’s securities businesses were gaining traction against some competitors. However, it lagged its aspirational competitors—Goldman, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch—by a considerable degree and had its work cut out. The Corporate Planning unit produced a report that spelled out various metrics for assessing progress and shortcomings in various business lines. A decision was made to sell the third-party custody business, and progress on growing asset management and private banking left much to be desired. Another challenge was Morgan’s management information system was not fully transparent in assigning costs and revenues to respective business units, which hindered capital allocation.