By Saeed Azhar, Tatiana Bautzer and Nupur Anand
NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. bank executives expressed optimism that Trump administration regulators will soften capital rules, a major reversal from stricter proposals under the Biden administration.
Wall Street has already locked in major wins on its regulatory wish list, including a pullback on supervisory bank exams and confidential disciplinary notices, alongside a friendlier stance on bank mergers.
“I absolutely think that the regulatory direction of travel is improving our competitive position significantly,” Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon told analysts on an earnings conference call on Tuesday. He expected to have a “very clear picture” of regulatory matters later this year and in the first half of 2026.
Officials are expected to shrink a key leverage constraint, reduce a capital surcharge levied on risky global banks, and overhaul annual tests that gauge whether lenders can withstand an economic shock, Reuters reported earlier this month, citing industry executives.
Solomon echoed those forecasts on Tuesday. If its capital buffers were reduced, Goldman could redeploy its resources into growth areas, he said.
Citigroup Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason said the bank will reduce its capital target after its latest results in the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test. It was watching to see how other rules would evolve, including standards known as Basel endgame, which sparked unprecedented industry pushback.
“I feel very good about the financial stability of the bank and the industry — we’re well-capitalized, we’ve got a very strong balance sheet,” Mason told journalists on a conference call.
“The regulatory environment is moving in the right direction seemingly in terms of taking a more holistic look at capital requirements… the sentiment from DC and from the regulators, I think, is a positive one.”
JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s largest lender, said it might still have some technical disagreements with regulators on how rules were calibrated, but nonetheless welcomed the tone and pace of the administration’s moves so far.
“The relevant agencies are working well together, there’s a sense of urgency and so we’re encouraged,” JPMorgan’s Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum told analysts.
(Reporting by Saeed Azhar, Tatiana Bautzer and Nupur Anand in New York, editing by Lananh Nguyen and Nick Zieminski)
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