Humbled after crisis, U.S. banks fired up under Trump

WASHINGTON — Packed into a ritzy hotel ballroom, a meeting of nearly 1,500 bankers momentarily turned into a pep rally. Be proud of being a banker and of the industry’s record profits, the speaker implored the assembled. In fact, he urged, it’s time to ask Congress for help so the industry can do even better.

“I don’t want a seat at the table. I want the table,” James Ballentine, chief lobbyist of the American Bankers Association, told the crowd.

After spending years humbled by the fallout from the financial crisis, the banking industry is suddenly feeling emboldened. Attendance at the annual association gathering jumped 50 per cent this year as bankers sense a rare opportunity with the election of Donald Trump and Republicans’ control of Congress to upend dozens of regulations put in place after the financial meltdown.

Critics argued banks are doing well enough without the help. But that hasn’t stopped Trump from directing Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to prepare a report this summer outlining which rules should be scrapped. Already the administration has begun replacing some of the industry’s toughest regulators with business-friendly officials.

To keep up the momentum, the visiting bankers descended on Capitol Hill this week to make personal appeals for repealing regulations they say have gone too far and make it difficult to loan money to consumers. Many wore blue “America’s Banks” pins as they recounted their stories of regulatory woe. Some scored meetings with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and cruised government buildings with pamphlets outlining their concerns.

The industry’s aggressive lobbying push, though, comes with an inconvenient reality: the banking business has rarely been better.

“They are doing great under the current system,” said Marcus Stanley, policy director for Americans for Financial Reform.

The country’s nearly 6,000 banks — from large players like Bank of America to the small community and regional banks packed into the hotel conference room — pulled in more than $171 billion in profits last year — a record, according to recently released Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data. Big banks such as Goldman Sachs have seen their stock prices surge since Trump’s election.

Ballentine, the lobbyist, told bankers they shouldn’t be embarrassed by that success. “Profit is not a four-letter word; you’re supposed to be profitable,” he said.