Wall Street’s Deal-Making Lull Crimps Earnings at Morgan Stanley, Goldman

Wall Street banks had hoped that deal making would rev back up in early 2023. So far, it hasn’t.

Morgan Stanley was the last of the biggest U.S. banks to report quarterly earnings with its release Wednesday, and in some ways it followed a familiar template. Investment banking revenue fell, as it did at JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and other large banks. Trading revenue also fell at most of the banks, including Morgan Stanley, though by a smaller amount than the decline in investment banking.