July 12, 2025 / VOLUME NO. 374

The Populist President

At Bank Director’s Acquire or Be Acquired Conference last January, a reporter asked me why I thought President Donald Trump would roll back consumer protection regulations. After all, she said, Trump is a populist.

It turns out, the Trump administration and Congress have been delivering for the financial services industry, not for the consumer protectionist camp.

Let’s review. 

• First off, the Biden administration had capped credit card late fees for large issuers at $8. The current administration asked a federal judge to cancel that rule, and it was done. Similarly, Congress and the president used a mechanism to overturn the prior administration’s rule capping overdraft fees for banks and credit unions above $10 billion in assets.
• Under this administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has abandoned prior lawsuits and consent orders against multiple banks and even credit unions. The latest was a consent order against Vienna, Virginia-based Navy Federal Credit Union that would have required that the institution pay a $15 million penalty plus more than $80 million in refunds to consumers for overdraft fees.
• Further, the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, now signed into law, will slash funding for the CFPB. The bureau regulates banks above $10 billion in assets for the benefit of consumers, but the agency has been controversial since its inception. Critics point to overzealous regulation and rulemaking by enforcement action, as well as its funding structure. The CFPB’s funding comes from the Federal Reserve, not Congress. The law cuts that funding from a maximum of 12% of the Federal Reserve’s operating expenses to 6.5%. 
• The bill includes other wins for the banking industry. For example, it extends tax breaks for S corporations and other pass-through entities that were set to expire at the end of this year, ensuring parity for S corporations with tax reductions put in place for other types of corporations in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. 

One thing seems clear. At least when it comes to financial regulation, the banking industry is winning. 

• Naomi Snyder, editor-in-chief for Bank Director

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First National Bank of Pennsylvania was once a community bank happy to be a community bank. But CEO Vincent Delie Jr. had other ideas.

“He sees down the field a long, long way. ... He has a visionary approach to things.” — James Chiafullo, F.N.B.

• Naomi Snyder, editor-in-chief for Bank Director

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About Bank Director

Bank Director provides research, peer-insight and executive and board services to the financial industry. CEOs, CFOs, Chairs and leadership teams at financial institutions, fintechs and financial services firms turn to Bank Director to keep pace with their ever-evolving business landscape.