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Investment bank Morgan Stanley has announced the retirement of one of its top bosses, with analysts linking her departure to the sub-prime crisis.

Commentators believe Morgan Stanley's retiring co-president Zoe Cruz is the latest high-profile victim to emerge from the current turmoil within the financial sector.

Just three weeks ago Morgan Stanley confirmed it had made a loss of $3.7 billion (£1.76 billion) as a result of exposure to bad debts in the US sub-prime mortgage market.

Ms Cruz, 52, had previously been tipped as a possible successor to Morgan Stanley's current chief executive.

News of her departure comes after two senior figures from rival organisations recently quit their posts after reporting significant sub-prime related losses. Merrill Lynch chief executive Stan O'Neal confirmed his retirement last month, while Citigroup boss Charles Prince resigned on November 4th.

In a statement Morgan Stanley announced the departure of Ms Cruz, previously named by Fortune magazine as the world's highest-paid corporate woman, as part of a management shake-up at the bank.

Morgan Stanley chairman and chief executive John Mack said the changes would help the business cope with the current turmoil on the world's financial markets.

"Morgan Stanley's business is strong and growing. We see significant opportunities to build on the market leadership positions we have across our global franchise and to take advantage of the strong foundation we've put in place in recent years," he stressed.

"Today's markets, however, are changing rapidly, and we're putting in place a leadership team that is ideally suited to help Morgan Stanley realise the opportunities ahead, while continuing to navigate the current challenging conditions," Mr Mack added.

The Morgan Stanley chief said Ms Cruz, who is ending a 25-year career at the bank, had "always demonstrated a deep commitment" to the company.