Bank bosses call for softer rules, Trump-nominated regulators listen

Lananh Nguyen, Pete Schroeder and Tatiana Bautzer

Thu, Mar 27, 2025, 3:05 AM 5 min read

By Lananh Nguyen, Pete Schroeder and Tatiana Bautzer

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. banking giants are pushing for a swath of lighter regulations from President Donald Trump's administration, and accidental they are heartened by signals that regulators are listening.

Bank bosses privation to chopped reporting requirements connected immoderate transactions, bounds regulators' enforcement powers, velocity up woody approvals and overhaul superior rules, 4 manufacture executives told Reuters. Those asks would see raising the barroom connected an anti-money-laundering regularisation requiring reporting of $10,000 currency transactions and limiting the usage of confidential regulatory warnings, known arsenic Matters Requiring Attention, 2 of those sources said. Another large alteration could beryllium watering down yearly accent tests, 1 of those sources said.

The manufacture has gotten encouraging signs from nationalist statements from the administration, adjacent arsenic bankers hold for caput regulators to beryllium installed.

"There has been receptivity to our concerns," said Kevin Fromer, caput of the Financial Services Forum, which represents the largest planetary banks and has been pushing for lighter superior and supervisory controls. "We’re astatine the aboriginal stages of that conversation."

Public statements by regulators person indicated a alteration of focus. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the Economic Club of New York this period that the fiscal regulatory docket needed "a cardinal refocusing of supervisors' priorities," portion Travis Hill, acting FDIC head, said astatine a bankers league successful Washington that regulators request to beryllium "more focused connected the existent cardinal fiscal risks and little connected the medication astir that."

REGULATORY CHANGE

The changes being pushed could magnitude to immoderate of the astir important slope deregulation successful years. Most recently, immoderate larger banks saw regularisation alleviation successful 2019 nether a “tailoring” task undertaken successful the archetypal Trump administration.

The wishlist for sweeping regulatory changes comes aft the manufacture fought Biden-era regulators who sought to instrumentality stricter superior rules known arsenic Basel endgame past year. The connection was efficaciously scrapped successful a large triumph for banks, and present the manufacture is seeking further relief.

Some bankers contend that regulators successful caller years person been unfairly heavy-handed adjacent arsenic ample institutions study robust net and amusement resilience done the pandemic and 2023 manufacture turmoil, erstwhile 3 determination lenders failed.

Still, proponents of tougher rules reason they supply captious guardrails for the fiscal system, protecting consumers and the broader economy.