Morgan Stanley (MS)

Since the onset of the credit crisis one year ago, Morgan Stanley's financial performance and risk management has been inconsistent, and below the levels expected of a Aa3-rated financial institution," Moody's analysts Robert Young and Peter Nerby said a press release.

The review will look at, "Morgan Stanley's ability to control risk and generate higher levels of profitability over the next one to two years," the release said. The ratings agency said "the more likely" result of its review would be a downgrade of Morgan Stanley's long-term debt to A1.

Morgan Stanley missed out on several highly profitable investments of the past few years, such as the highly-profitable mortgage business of the early 2000s and the large growth in equity derivatives trading, and it will have to work hard over the next few years just to catch up to its competitors.

Morgan Stanley's asset management division has posted decent returns, but lags consistently behind its peers.

Morgan Stanley is still in the process of building or rebuilding several of its main investment sectors and admits that these may not be as profitable for the next few years.