The U.S. stock market went on something of a tear after President Trump's victory in November, and the biggest winners were Wall Street banks, led by Goldman Sachs. The rise in bank shares was a boon for investors in Goldman, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Chase, and other top banks, but also for their executives, who sold off at least $100 million worth of stock since the election — more than any other November to January period in at least a decade — The Wall Street Journal reported. Bank stocks are collectively up about 20 percent since Nov. 9, more than triple the broader market.
That jump in valuation was attributed to expectations that Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress will gut financial reforms put in place by Democrats to prevent another banking crisis, plus enact lower taxes and other bank-friendly economic policies. The skyrocketing bank shares also revived millions of dollars worth of previously worthless stock options about to expire, and executives at top Wall Street banks also sold $350 million worth of stock to exercise those options, The Wall Street Journal reports. Not all banks have reported their executives' stock trades, and only some executives have to file such reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 19, 2025Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - free trade, judicial pushback, and more
-
5 educational cartoons about the Harvard pushbackCartoons Artists take on academic freedom, institutional resistance, and more
-
One-pan black chickpeas with baharat and orange recipeThe Week Recommends This one-pan dish offers bold flavours, low effort and minimum clean up
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loomSpeed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panelsSpeed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of businessSpeed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pausesSpeed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocksSpeed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor dealSpeed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
-
Biden expected to block Japanese bid for US SteelSpeed Read The president is blocking the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons mergerSpeed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
