Is Morgan Stanley now the employer of choice in equities? Or is it Credit Suisse?

Even if Morgan Stanley's FICC results were a bit unimpressive, its equity results were ok (if not excellent).

When the changes in the value of Morgan Stanley's own debt (DVA) are excluded, the bank's equities revenues actually rose 100% year-on-year and were stable quarter-on-quarter.

Needless to say, equities was a disaster for Goldman last quarter (an 84% decline q-o-q), what with absent hedging and significantly lower business activity.

The differential is liable to work to Morgan Stanley's benefit when it comes to hiring. During yesterday's conference call, CFO Ruth Porrat said the bank's continuing to add headcount in sales and trading, "where it makes sense," and that a "lot of people want to be on this platform."

Headhunters confirm Morgan Stanley's intrinsic equities popularity.

"It's such a good franchise that people want to join them," says Zaheer Ebrahim at Kennedy Associates. "Morgan Stanley have phenomenal distribution, great clients and a full service platform. If you're associate, VP, or director level, you're rarely going to turn them down."

Others disagree, however. "The two best ones are still Goldman and Credit Suisse," asserts the head of an equity-focused search firm.

Given Goldman's recent dire performance in equities, this may not remain the case for much longer. The same can't be said for Credit Suisse. It's results are out today, and show definite equities promise: adjusted for own debt gains, equities revenues were up 2% on the first three months of the year.