Executives at the New York bank said that strategic activity has started to pick up over the last month. Morgan Stanley also reported second-quarter revenue and earnings that beat analysts' expectations.

The New York-based company reported big increases in investment banking and trading revenue, and said it might consider a deal to boost its asset and wealth management business.

The Pittsburgh-based bank's average loans increased 2% from the prior quarter, its largest jump since the end of 2022.

The global bank reported solid second-quarter results as executives maintain confidence in the bank's ability to achieve a return on tangible common equity of 10-11% next year. But an analyst said Citi's progress on reducing expenses will hinge on its ability to get freed from various enforcement actions.

CEO Robin Vince refused to comment on "rumors or speculation" about a potential merger between the custody banking giant and its smaller rival, Northern Trust. He also said that the bar for BNY to engage in M&A is "very high."

As the $4.6 trillion-asset bank looks to deploy its excess capital, investing in growth is the top priority. But there aren't many tempting acquisition opportunities for the megabank right now, CEO Jamie Dimon said Tuesday.

Strong fee income growth and solid credit quality helped offset weak demand for credit as the San Francisco-based bank reported a 20% boost to earnings per share from a year ago.

Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said in a Tuesday statement that "the U.S. economy remained resilient" during the second quarter, adding that the recent tax cuts and potential deregulation are "positive for the economic outlook."

Loan growth and laxer capital requirements figure to be hot topics during second-quarter earnings season, which starts Tuesday. It's a turnaround from three months ago, when tariff worries were rampant.

A widening array of investment banking and trading initiatives across the region is likely to put Morgan Stanley's Asia revenue over the $7.64 billion it posted last year, Asia chief Gokul Laroia said.