The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, July 16, edition that a broad revival in investment banking is taking hold on Wall Street. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that the biggest U.S. banks said this week that deal activity is strengthening across their investment banking businesses, suggesting the broad-based recovery that has eluded the industry for years is gaining momentum. Investment banking fees at the six largest U.S. banks surged 45 per cent on average in the second quarter from a year earlier, with Morgan Stanley reporting the strongest percentage growth. "Even with very strong investment banking revenues this quarter, our backlog increased to its highest level in five years and its second highest level on record, underpinned by a record advisory backlog," Goldman Sachs chief executive officer David Solomon said on a call with analysts on Tuesday. Years of elevated interest rates, market volatility and tougher regulatory scrutiny kept companies from pursuing deals and public listings. More recently, conflict in the Middle East and uncertainty over artificial intelligence's economic impact prompted a brief bout of caution, but neither proved enough to derail the recovery.