- JPMorgan Chase has set up a war room in response to President Trump’s many executive orders, while other firms are scrambling.
Since returning to office, President Donald J. Trump has issued a barrage of executive orders. Over in Wall Street, one big name in finance is working round the clock to analyze the potential shifts coming its way from Washington, D.C.
“At JPMorgan, we have a war room set up to analyze and evaluate each and every one of these [executive orders],” Mary Callahan Erdoes, chief executive officer of JPMorganChase’s asset and wealth management branch, said at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “They’ve been up all night and are working on it. Time will tell.”
Some of Trump’s executive orders, notably the one attempting to revoke birthright citizenship, are already being called into question. Attorney generals from more than 22 states are suing. New Jersey’s attorney general, Matthew J. Platkin slammed: “Presidents are powerful but he is not a king. He cannot rewrite the Constitution with a stroke of the pen.” The pausing of a TikTok ban is likely to face legal challenges, too, notes NPR.
Even so, with so much coming out of the White House, businesses are scrambling to catch up. “There’s probably some shock and awe on day one,” Nick Studer, chief executive of management consulting company Oliver Wyman, told the Washington Post. While Trump is “at the peak of his power now,” there’s more yet to be fully realized, especially when it comes to the potential tariffs on the horizon, he adds.
Part of this is just procedure as always. “It’s our regular practice to analyze the impacts of any policy proposal on our business, our clients, and the communities in which we operate—and of course, there’s a team reviewing these new developments,” JPMorgan wrote in a statement to Fortune.
Finance sector scrambles for change
Indeed, many finance companies seem to be especially concerned about Trump’s threat of tariffs, as he announced that he’s set to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and China starting Feb. 1. CEOs of major companies have warned that this strain will mostly land on the consumer’s shoulders, making it difficult to maintain low prices.
Still, it’s not all furrowed brows: Banks are anticipating a more lenient administration when it comes to big business. Erdoes of JPMorgan says “animal spirits are alive,” amid hopes of a “lighter-touch regulatory environment.” The CEO of U.S. bank BNY Robin Vince added that “regulation has been stifling.”
At Davos, JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon called tariffs “an economic tool” or “an economic weapon,” contingent upon how they’re wielded. “Get over it,” he seemingly shrugged, claiming that while the policy is “a little inflationary,” it’s “good for national security.”
That being said, JPMorgan isn’t totally nonchalant about the orders coming through—as demonstrated by its war room. Bank of America and Citigroup are also keeping a watchful eye, analyzing Trump’s orders to help international clients prepare, writes the Journal. (Bank of America did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment. Citi declined to comment.) And law firms tell the Journal that they’ve set up rapid-response teams and hotlines to help clients concerned about potentially impending immigration policies.
“The last 24 hours are showing there’s going to be a lot of changes we all have to digest,” Erdoes said at Davos.
