Trump will deprioritise banking reform despite talk

Subject

President Donald Trump and banking reform.

Significance

President Donald Trump attacked Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton ahead of the November 2016 election over her paid speaking appearances at Wall Street financial institutions before her second presidential run. Although he has appointed several former bankers to administration positions and advanced a deregulatory agenda as president, as a candidate Trump criticised big banks and proposed restoring the Glass-Steagall rule separating commercial and investment banking in the 1933 US Banking Act, enacted during the Great Depression but repealed in 1999. The idea has gained some traction in Congress and Trump called for a “21st century version” of Glass-Steagall in a May 1 interview.

Impacts

• When the Fed normalises interest rates, it will help US banks’ profitability when combined with less-stringent compliance requirements.
• Stricter stances on financial regulation are likely to be an ideological litmus test for Democratic candidates seeking nomination.
• Finance-friendly appointments to and legislative restrictions on federal agencies will curtail Washington’s regulatory power.