Washington is awash with talk about how the new Trump administration could upend the country’s bloated and unevenly harsh banking regulation. Banks may now find it easier to merge and to chase new businesses. But large and lasting changes to the landscape and methods of banking supervision in the US won’t be quick, or easy.
US bankers are excited about the new administration, anticipating they will finally be unshackled from what they see as excessive regulation and supervision. Early actions – such as efforts to weaken, if not dismantle, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, talk of agency consolidation, and the new executive order extending White House oversight over independent regulatory agencies – support that notion. This optimism is further bolstered by key regulatory appointments, including the nomination of Jonathan Gould as the next Comptroller of the Currency.
However, there are a few flies in the ointment. Chief among them is the Federal Reserve, which holds substantial regulatory and supervisory authority, and will be far more difficult for the administration to reshape.
Many experts believe, and I share this view, US bank regulation is bloated and too harsh, typically in uneven ways
The Fed has a full board, with members serving staggered terms of years, and the first seat won’t turn over until January 31, 2026.