Jason Cave: The entire regulatory structure in the US will undergo a fundamental change with Trump in charge

“The entire regulatory structure, will undergo a fundamental change,” expert Jason Cave proposes, commenting on the anticipated changes in the US following the election of Donald Trump as the country's next President.

The US-based specialist was speaking to CBN after addressing the recent 10th International Funds Summit & Expo presented by CIFA and Invest Cyprus in Nicosia.

Cave, a veteran US banking regulator and former member of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and founder of a Fintech start-up, took to the stage to talk about ‘Financial Innovation: Challenges and Opportunities.’ His address aimed at providing an update on the developments in the fintech space in the US, how recent events shifted the regulatory landscape, and where opportunities exist to expand the fintech perimetre.

A Principal at Piedmont Risk Advisors LLC, Cave had begun his speech by pointing out that as the US Presidential election results had come in during his journey to Cyprus, the unexpected by many result meant that he would no longer be using the slides and results he had prepared in advance.

However, as a true expert in his field, Cave was still able to give an informative talk taking into account the new conditions the election results had created.

Going on to speak to CBN, he went over the points he had most wanted to underline in his address, “I think what's important is to emphasise that investing in the US, and just the entire regulatory structure, will undergo a fundamental change.”

On the anticipated impact on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), since the new government was not expected to be as invested in ensuring companies were legally obligated to follow ESG practices, Cave said he did not expect the US to embark on anti-ESG actions as such.

“What I am saying is that ESG practices will depend on company fundamentals,” he suggested, explaining that businesses would continue their ESG practices in line with their company philosophy and not necessarily what the law dictates.

“Companies have to invest, prepare for those sorts of those realities, but there's not going to be the government telling anyone what to do,” he said.

Cave also underlined the importance of the magnitude of the mandate Trump had been handed, due to his significant victory in the elections, which in turn meant he would be able to place the people he wanted in key positions.

This, in turn, could determine whether some projects, including sustainability-related ones, will eventually go ahead or not as the approval criteria would change. Companies that may not have received support before because of the business they were in, may now find it, Cave suggested.

The new government may also be less likely to make what it views as compromises to become part of international agreements, which will, as Cave pointed out, at the very least slow down regulatory matters.

Another aspect could see the new government being more willing to work with larger banks since, as Cave suggested during his address, a Republican government would like not turn down the chance to generate revenue.

He suggested that the start of Trump’s presidency would look more like the end of his previous tenure than its beginning, also noting that the new President would have wider support in the Senate and other bodies now than he did the first time round.

As Principal at Piedmont Risk Advisors LLC, the expert also revealed that he has found that he does sometimes find himself giving clients the same type of advice.

“I spent most of my time on the regulatory side of the table, so I would go in with my principal or the chairman of the agency, director of the agency and they would meet with industry banks, lobbyists, consultants who would be pitching them something that they wanted. So I was able to over the years see what worked and what didn't,” Cave explained.

He continued that, “A lot of what I do, and it doesn't matter on your company, it's how to get the first meeting and prepare your staff for the meeting.”

A very important part of this is being able to understand your audience which means learning as much as you can about the people you will be meeting and not making assumptions about their positions on issues, and remembering that time is money and first impressions really do matter.

“You want to put your best foot forward,” he underlined, noting there was no such thing as a neutral result.

Asked why he considered taking part in events such as 10th International Funds Summit & Expo to be important, as a speaker or a member of the audience, Cave said, “I like to challenge the conventional.”

He explained this meant that it was important to get a full perspective on issues and that events like this were a good place to hear expert opinions and views other than your own.