Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is exploring ways to dramatically downsize, consolidate, or even eliminate key US banking regulators, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
In interviews with potential nominees for top positions at the regulatory agencies, the Trump team is asking whether it would be possible for the president-elect to eliminate the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); for example, the people said, adding that the interview team consists of incoming Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent and the newly formed Office of Government Efficiency, co-chaired by billionaire Elon Musk.
In November, Musk called for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to be scrapped, saying there were already too many agencies with duplicative roles.
The US banking industry is said to be particularly wary of the FDIC, as any move that might appear to put deposits at risk could cause panic.
The decision to abolish the FDIC or any other government agency would have to be approved by the US Congress. While previous presidents have reorganized or renamed federal agencies, no administration has ever abolished one.
