Wall Street’s Deals Rebound Is Missing Something: Paul J. Davies

Dealmaking is back! At least that’s what it looks like after the big five US investment banks reported a 27% increase in first-quarter fees from mergers, takeovers and fund raising than the same period last year. Beneath the surface, the recovery is patchy and the bullish outlook of many Wall Street executives relies on private-equity firms getting back into the game.

Bank of America Corp. saw the strongest rebound with investment banking revenue up 35% versus the first quarter last year, it said on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley, which also reported Tuesday, had the weakest growth of the five, but its fees were still 16% better than ...