Biggest Banks Battle to Keep Fed Pot of Gold Out of Highway Bill
By Cheyenne Hopkins
Wall Street is desperately trying to persuade U.S. House lawmakers to kill a proposal that would use money from banks to fix the nation’s highways. A key concern is that once Congress taps the finance industry to help fund infrastructure projects, it won’t be able to stop….“The industry is in a very dangerous spot because it is a pot of gold,” said Karen Shaw Petrou, managing partner of Washington-based research firm Federal Financial Analytics. “With the general political climate I don’t know a lot of people on Capitol Hill that like banks.” Spokesmen for JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo declined to comment on the dividend cut. During the last few months, lobbyists have met with staff for House Financial Services Committee members because they oversee the banking industry, including Chairman Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican, Representative Bill Huizenga, a Michigan Republican, and Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat, according to people familiar with the discussions.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-06/biggest-banks-battle-to-keep-fed-pot-of-gold-out-of-highway-bill
