Trump advisers said to explore consolidating or eliminating bank regulators

As Wall Street awaits less corporate regulation under president-elect Donald Trump, his transition team is exploring ways to shrink, consolidate or even eliminate top banking regulators, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.

In interviews with candidates to lead bank regulatory agencies, Trump advisers asked whether the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. could be abolished. The agency insures deposits in U.S. banks to protect against loss in the event of a bank failure.

The advisers, which include officials in the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), also asked the candidates if the deposit insurance could be absorbed into the Treasury Department once the FDIC is dismantled.

The interviews also involved discussions about potentially consolidating or restructuring the FDIC, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve. The candidates that were interviewed by the advisers were under consideration for the FDIC and OCC.

Another plan that has been floated involves only one agency – the FDIC, OCC or parts of the Fed – regulating banks, while the others only maintain non-regulatory staff.

Elimination of the FDIC or any agency would require congressional approval, and it may not be easy to find support for such a drastic step in slashing government oversight.

Project 2025, a conservative policy blueprint for the 2025 presidential transition, has called for streamlining bank supervision by merging the OCC, FDIC, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Fed’s non-monetary functions. To note, Trump has publicly opposed Project 2025, but has nominated several people tied to the agenda to serve in his administration.

Elon Musk, who co-leads the DOGE, last month called for the elimination of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, saying “there are too many duplicative regulatory agencies.”

At a recent event, JPMorgan (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon said the banking industry is hopeful for less red tape under Trump. “A lot of bankers, they’re dancing in the streets because they’ve had successive years of regulations, a lot of which stymied credit.”