Big Banks Could Return $100B In Capital To Investors Should Trump's Dodd-Frank Overhaul Succeed
After President Donald Trump signed an executive action calling for the evaluation and rework of Dodd-Frank last week, U.S. banks experienced a surge in stock gains as investors increased bets anticipating deregulation and stronger economic growth.
Should the Trump administration succeed in its plans to overhaul the law, the country’s six largest banks — Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley — are looking at $100B in capital that could be dispersed back to investors via dividends and share buybacks over time.
Dodd-Frank was created while Democrats dominated Congress, and was enacted to prevent another financial crisis, but many have criticized the law, claiming it unnecessarily burdens lenders, limits consumers’ options for funding, and hurts business and economic growth, the Wall Street Journal reports.
As Congress prepares to release plans to amend the law, one likely proposed change will be raising the threshold that places tougher restrictions on lenders with at least $50B in assets. Passing the proposed amendments to Dodd-Frank will not be easy, as Republicans will need Democrats' support for the amendments to pass the Senate. [WSJ]
