Wall Street giant JPMorgan has set up a “war room” for Donald Trump as the 47th president announces a raft of new policies upon his return to the White House, according to one of its top executives.
Mary Erdoes, head of the bank’s asset and wealth management unit, told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, an Alpine talking point for the self-proclaimed global elite, that the lender led by Jamie Dimon is preparing for major changes under Atout.
“We have set up a situation room to analyze and evaluate each of these (policies),” Erdoes said. “They’ve been up all night working on it. Time will tell.
His comments came after the 78-year-old’s second presidential inauguration on Monday; Trump moved to revoke nearly 80 executive actions taken by his predecessor Joe Biden within hours of taking office.
He campaigned last year by threatening to impose huge tariffs on U.S. trading partners such as Mexico and Canada, raising the possibility of potential trade and market turmoil.
But Erdoes, a JPMorgan veteran who joined the firm in 1996, said she sees signs that the new administration will be a boon for U.S. businesses.
She told the Davos panel that the new commander in chief is keen to create a “very business-friendly environment” and that “animal spirits are alive” which is currently putting the US economy “into running mode”.
The 57-year-old also praised Trump for his decision to order all US civil servants back to the office in a sweeping crackdown on the Biden administration’s permissive and quiet coronavirus benefits.
“Thank goodness the U.S. government did this, and I hope this will keep us ahead of other governments around the world and allow us to continue to be competitive.”
JPMorgan recently ordered its staff to return to the office, sparking outrage among some employees.
Seen as a possible successor to current CEO Dimon, Erdoes criticized the previous administration for strangling the financial sector with red tape.
The Harvard Business School alumnus expressed hope that Trump would roll back some rules.
“If you look at the last administration and the number of significant new regulations, it’s eight times more significant new regulations than the previous Trump administration,” she said.
“This involves several million hours of paperwork. Work that hampers the system and prevents the economy from continuing to have this very healthy flywheel. So we are looking forward to that,” Erdoes added. “I hope this will keep us ahead of other governments around the world and we can continue to be competitive.”
JPMorgan’s Dimon has repeatedly pointed to so-called Basel III rules, a global plan that requires banks to hold more emergency capital on their books so they can weather any financial storm.
Critics argue that this diverts funding away from potentially lucrative loans, reducing access to credit for people and businesses who need it.
The majority of Trump’s Cabinet nominees have yet to be confirmed, with the new administration’s plans to shake up the banking industry still unclear.
The Post revealed in November how top aides on Trump’s then-transition team talked to JPMorgan’s Dimon about using the 68-year-old banking titan as a “sounding board” for the new administration’s economic policies .
A Wall Street Journal report last month suggested that the president was considering whether to abolish the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), a U.S. government agency that guarantees deposits in U.S. banks, and transfer that responsibility to the department. of the Treasury.
He also said Trump could eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which angered many Wall Street executives during Biden’s tenure.
A group of big banks sued the CFPB last month over a rule, set to take effect in October 2025, that limits the amount they can charge in overdraft fees.
