Morgan Stanley, whose Asian business was this morning hit by news that its chief executive in the region was quitting, has become the first US institution to issue Samurai bonds in more than six months. It comes as US and European banks face difficulty issuing bonds in their local currencies.

Hans Schuettler, who was appointed Asia CEO for the bank in April 2006, resigned from his position for personal reasons this week. Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley in Asia, will act as CEO in addition to his current role, a spokeswoman said. Schuettler was the bank's co-head of European investment banking before he was appointed to the role in Asia.