Trump is expected to sign executive orders that would repeal 2 huge Wall Street regulations

Trump will target the Dodd-Frank Act, which was written in the aftermath of the financial crisis to scale back risk-taking at the country's largest financial institutions, as well as the fiduciary rule, which requires investment advisers to put client interests above their own when it comes to investment choices for retirement accounts, according to The Journal's Michael Bender and Damian Paletta.

Gary Cohn, the former Goldman Sachs COO who is now the director of the White House National Economic Council, told The Journal that the executive orders would not immediately repeal the two regulations. Instead, Trump's orders would direct the labor secretary to rescind the fiduciary standard and the Treasury secretary to devise a plan to replace Dodd-Frank.

Cohn also told The Journal that the orders wouldn't be the end of Trump's deregulation efforts, saying the moves are a "table setter" for further action.

Trump has expressed a desire to deregulate the financial sector, a promise that has made bank stocks one of the best-performing sectors since the election. Trump's administration, however, has been somewhat inconsistent on this.

The president has mentioned reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act, which separated commercial and investment banks until the late 1990s. Trump's Treasury secretary pick, Steven Mnuchin, reiterated that he is in favor of a "21st century" Glass-Steagall in testimony to Congress.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said in a press conference this week that Trump's views on such an act are "consistent" but did not elaborate beyond that.

Cohn told The Journal that Glass-Steagall was not designed to benefit major banks, but keep the US competitive.

"It has nothing to do with JPMorgan," Cohn said. "It has nothing to do with Citigroup. It has nothing to do with Bank of America. It has to do with being a player in a global market where we should, could and will have a dominant position as long as we don't regulate ourselves out of that."

The news will still come as a welcome sign for the biggest banks, who have had to increase the capital on their balance sheets and lessen their risk-taking since the passage of the law.

Cohn also told The Journal that the administration plans to direct the Treasury Department to review the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-backed mortgage lenders. Additionally, Cohn said that the executive action would not affect the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was created as a part of Dodd-Frank.

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Trump is expected to sign executive orders that would repeal 2 huge Wall Street regulations

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