Dealmaking Reignites for Banks Just as Consumers Start to Falter

The first three US banking giants to report midyear earnings are leaning on a revival in Wall Street dealmaking as high interest rates take a mounting toll on income from lending.

Investment bankers and underwriters at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. posted their best second-quarter in three years as merger activity and debt capital markets began to rebound. Even Wells Fargo & Co., smaller in those areas, saw fees from that business leap 63% to $634 million.

A wall of maturing debt securities sent clients running to refinance, Citigroup Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason told ...