President Donald Trump is open to the idea of breaking up giant Wall Street banks, separating consumer lending and investment banking, according to Bloomberg News.
“I’m looking at that right now,” Trump said. “There’s some people that want to go back to the old system, right? So we’re going to look at that.”
The stock markets dipped briefly in response to Trump’s comment but returned to normal levels.
Dow turns positive again following drop after President Trump said he's "looking at" breaking up big banks https://t.co/simsdicmo0 pic.twitter.com/gSq3KdqS83
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) May 1, 2017
Trump made his remarks in an interview with Bloomberg News reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. He was asked about his campaign suggestion that he would implement a version of the Glass-Steagall law that was passed in 1933. The law required consumer lending and investments to be separate, but it was repealed in 1999 under former president Bill Clinton.
The idea was included in the Republican party platform and endorsed by then-campaign manager Paul Manafort in July 2016.
“We believe the Obama-Clinton years have passed legislation that has been favorable to the big banks, which is why you see all the Wall Street money going to her,” he said. “We are supporting the small banks and Main Street.”
Earlier today, Vice President Mike Pence and Donald Trump met with a group of community bankers at the White House. Trump vowed to get rid of onerous regulations like Dodd-Frank that hurt small banks.
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