Morgan Stanley Sees Bank M&A Picking Up as Recession Risks Fade

Mergers and acquisitions in the US banking sector are set to pick up pace in the second half of the year as recession fears recede and the regulatory landscape continues to shift, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley.

“Tariff and macro uncertainty has only temporarily delayed the pickup in bank M&A, we expect activity picks up as recession risks fade,” the team led by Manan Gosalia and Betsy Graseck wrote in a note published Tuesday. The shifting regulatory and secular industry trends point to more bank M&A in the second half, they added.

While there’s historically been an average ...