Morgan Stanley on Wednesday appointed 212 new managing directors in a sign the investment bank is feeling a bit more comfortable since the financial crisis sideswiped Wall Street last year.

The size of next year's class is considerably higher than the 133 that were named in 2009, and puts the number of new managing directors on track with levels seen before the crisis. Morgan Stanley, which has about 62,000 employees, named 241 managing directors in 2007 and 228 the year before.