Wall Street and big business have reached deep into their pockets to try to buy their friend from Pennsylvania a second senate term. While it’s never been a secret that former investment banker and Club for Growth president Pat Toomey is the best senator Wall Street has ever had, two new reports from Bloomberg this week reveal how worried the finanical industry is over losing their biggest “ally” in Washington.
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On top of that, Toomey’s place on the Senate committees that oversee banks and tax policy raises the stakes for the financial industry and other corporations.
… Employees from banks, hedge funds and private equity firms have given about $4.6 million to Toomey’s campaign and two allied committees.
… Toomey, a former president of free-market advocate Club for Growth, worked in finance, including a stint as a derivatives trader, before embarking on a political career. If he were to lose, it could leave the industry with fewer allies on the committee that shapes financial regulation and vets key appointments at agencies like the Treasury Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
… A risk for banks is that if Toomey loses it could serve as a double whammy. Lenders would relinquish a senator in a key post who they consider receptive to their issues, while gaining a lawmaker who seems inclined to align herself with Warren’s growing political posse.
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Toomey, a former derivatives trader, sits on both the Senate Banking Committee and Senate Finance Committee, which oversee banks and tax policy, respectively. If he fails to beat Democrat Katie McGinty, the industry will lose someone it considers an ally in vetting Treasury and SEC appointments.
Toomey has a track record of advocating for policies aligned with financial firms’ interests. He sponsored legislation passed in 2014 that eased some rules for the derivatives industry, also known as swaps-pushout. He also introduced a bill that seeks to overturn tougher requirements for the money-market fund industry intended to curb risks that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.