Top Banks See No Rebound for Industry

Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and other securities firms say there will be fewer investment bankers a year from now as the industry extends a two-year revenue plunge of 40%.

About $260 billion has been wiped off the market value of the top 10 securities firms since the end of 2000, a record year for the earnings of firms selling bonds, stocks and advice on mergers.

That figure is more than the combined current value of Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co.

Mergers declined 28% this year to the lowest level since at least 1998, leading to a drop in sales of securities used to finance acquisitions.