If anything, the shotgun marriages that took place at the height of the crisis accelerated this trend, joining many of America’s investment banks with their commercial rivals.

If anything, the shotgun marriages that took place at the height of the crisis accelerated this trend, joining many of America's investment banks with their commercial rivals.

That number increased from the middle of this decade to a high of 81 in 2006, before plunging along with all other M&A activity (except shotgun marriages of troubled banks) during the economic crisis.