Nov 7 - The banking industry is expected to win big as former President Donald Trump returns to the White House, ushering in Republican regulators who are expected to ease capital rules and merger approvals, industry experts and analysts said.
"The Basel endgame rule could be completely dead," said Gene Ludwig, a former top bank regulator who advises financial institutions as CEO of Ludwig Advisors. The Federal Reserve agreed to water down the proposal in September, when Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr said the regulator would overhaul and re-issue the rules later.
"This is like an earthquake for bank M&A and bank regulatory policy," said Ed Mills, an analyst at Raymond James, who expected bank deals to be announced within weeks. "There will be changes of personnel at the top level and there will be more M&A, but the intensity of supervision and the focus on junk fees is unlikely to change much," she said.
"The M&A landscape for banks may benefit with shorter approval timeframes," Morningstar DBRS wrote in a note.