Investment Bankers Finally Start to Take Trump Literally
The president’s chaotic policymaking has undermined hopes for a surge in deal flow.
US President Donald Trump’s chaotic policymaking has undermined hopes for a resumption in investment banking deals.
Photographer: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
Banks needed the right version of Donald Trump to justify their high-flying stock prices. They got the wrong one. The US president’s chaotic and aggressive performance during his first few weeks in the White House has shocked companies, put investment plans and deals on hold and threatens to drag the economy into recession. Finance executives aren’t hitting the panic button yet, but my impression from a string of meetings in New York last week is that bankers are coming to accept that this administration is serious about reshaping the economic and financial landscape.
In his first term, the advice was take Trump seriously but not literally — the second part is no longer true. The transformation he’s planning during his second term will be painful; the questions are how much it will hurt and how long will it take.