After a deal list was leaked, Morgan Stanley moved quickly to contain the damage, with bankers at some rival institutions already weighing how they might exploit the incident, and at least two regulators beginning to assess the potential consequences.

The leak of the list this week drew intense attention across Asia's investment banking industry.

A senior banker at Morgan Stanley accidentally sent some clients an email containing more than 100 investment banking deals the Wall Street firm is pursuing and tracking.

According to people familiar with the matter, Morgan Stanley held emergency meetings with some private equity firms to apologize and assure relevant executives that it would work to mitigate the impact.

The people requested anonymity because the matter is not public.

A copy confirmed by people familiar with the matter shows the document included candidate initial public offering (IPO) projects in places such as South Korea and India.

The list mainly covered Asia, but also included Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and it also named the private equity funds and pension funds backing those companies, as well as some projects that have been shelved.

The document circulated among competitors, leaving them both surprised and delighted.

Bankers at some institutions said they would use the list to lock onto deal targets and pursue potential clients.

Others said most of the deals on the list were already known and offered little unexpected gain.

Traders and investors were also watching potential block trades mentioned in the list.