Major US banks have all reported their earnings. Morgan Stanley (MS) closed out the group, topping analysts' expectations and delivering a big boost in investment banking revenue.

American Banker editor-in-chief Chana Schoenberger joins Catalysts to discuss Big Bank earnings and her major takeaways from the industry.

Schoenberger's biggest takeaway from bank earnings is that "investment banking is up and trading is up." She attributes this trend to two factors: the markets being up and an increase in dealmaking. She notes that M&A (mergers and acquisitions) activity has increased this year and will continue its momentum as interest rates fall.

While easing interest rates is usually bad news for banks, she notes that it's not all negative: "When deposits come, in they have to pay money. They have to pay interest to their depositors. But then they also get to keep that spread. So a low [interest] rate environment should generally mean that things pick up in the economy and that is very good for banks."

To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here.

This post was written by Melanie Riehl