NEW YORK, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Wells Fargo, the fourth-biggest U.S. bank, plans to extend its hiring spree in investment banking after new recruits and efforts to grow market share significantly boosted the lender’s ranking in mergers and acquisitions.

The momentum in investment banking comes as Wall Street executives express optimism about the outlook for dealmaking, buoyed by a resilient U.S. economy.

It also marks a boon for Wells ‍Fargo, which is pursuing more ambitious goals after being released by regulators from a punitive seven-year cap on its assets in June, after fixing problems from a fake accounts scandal.

Wells Fargo, not previously seen as a big-hitter in the deals space, climbed to eighth place in the global mergers and acquisitions league table by volume so far this year,

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