Restructuring Wave Proves Moneymaker for Investment Banks (1)

A dealmaking rebound has long been on Wall Street’s lips, but it’s bankruptcy and restructuring that’s proving to be an unusually persistent moneymaker for boutique advisers.

There are signs that work helping firms with everything from discounted bond buybacks to creditor disputes will hold steady even as mergers and acquisitions come back, an unusual coincidence down to new drivers.

“This restructuring pipeline, by the way, I think everybody’s been saying it feels extended,” said Ken Moelis, the chief executive officer of New York-based Moelis & Co., on his company’s earnings call on last week. “It feels like there’s ...