Who Are Bankers Betting on for President?
The presidential elections are a year away, and you know how they say one dollar = one vote. To get an idea of how things are shaping up, let's look at how much money the candidates have raised from the banking industry so far.
Hillary Clinton is at the front of the pack, with $5.5M raised. The top GOP candidate is Jeb Bush, with more than $4.2M raised, American Banker reports. The banking industry has also contributed more than any other single sector to outside groups that are supportive of top candidates, with $116.2M donated total.
In line with their business, financial industry contributors tend to bet on who they think the winner will be. This could be bad news for Bush, who has been faltering lately, which could send more funds towards Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz. However, despite strong poll numbers from Donald Trump and Ben Carson, they've received a lot less support from the banking industry.
The Center for Responsive Politics acquired the data, which includes donations from commercial bank employees, securities and investment firms, insurance companies, hedge funds and the real estate industry. [AB]
