Morgan Stanley's profit increased in the fourth quarter, fueled by a wave of dealmaking for the investment bank.

BofA's investment banking fees jumped 44% to $1.7 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with a year earlier. Across the industry, global investment banking revenue jumped 26% to $86.80 billion, led by a 33% surge in North America, according to data from Dealogic. BofA earned the third-highest revenue among banks globally.

The earnings mirror those of rivals across Wall Street including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo , and Citigroup, whose results were buoyed by stronger equity markets

Bank of America reported higher profit on Thursday as its investment bankers capitalized on resurgence in dealmaking in the fourth quarter.

Morgan Stanley said its profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter, fueled by its investment banking and trading businesses. Profit surged 145% to $3.71 billion. That amounted to $2.22 per share,

Morgan Stanley turned in $3.7 billion of profit in the fourth quarter, up 147% from a year earlier and exceeding analysts’ estimates of $2.7 billion. The New York-based investment bank posted per-share earnings of $2.