News of the Day January 17, 2025
Wisconsin Banks Going into 2025 with Mix of Hope and Hesitation

Wisconsin banks are going into 2025 with a “mixture of hope and hesitation,” as optimism about the policies of the incoming Trump administration meet uncertainty and economic headwinds.

That’s according to Rose Oswald Poels, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Bankers Association. The group yesterday released its annual Wisconsin Economic Report, which compiles a series of sector outlooks from leaders of key industries within the state.

In her overview, Oswald Poels said bankers in Wisconsin will be “closely watching” how Donald Trump in his second term may bring “much-needed regulatory relief” to the financial sector. They’re looking for a pause on new federal regulations being introduced, she said, along with hoping that “overly burdensome” regulations will be pared back.

As an example, she points to new Section 1071 requirements from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which are meant to collect more data on small business loans. Oswald Poels says they’re being criticized by banks for creating an “excessive” administrative burden for them and their small business customers.

“The requirements go far beyond the original intent of the Dodd-Frank Act and could negatively impact small businesses by making access to credit more complicated and costly,” she said in the report.

At the same time, bankers are feeling cautious about the economic landscape writ large, Oswald Poels said. She wrote the “path to economic recovery is still uncertain and a significant rebound may take longer than expected.”

The effects of inflation were a central topic in several of the sector overviews in the report.