Banks proceed cautiously in new era of campaign giving
When it comes to campaign giving, people often try analyze whether Wall Street is leaning left or right. In this season of regulatory discontent, the conventional wisdom has been that the Street is seeking closer ties with the right.
But Wall Street is all about opportunity and hedging. They will back the entity they think will emerge the ultimate winner--the Republicans look stronger heading into the midterms--and work from there to maximize the industry's influence.
This was underscored by news from CNBC that Morgan Stanley has joined Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase in deciding not to get aggressive with campaign funding, despite a recent Supreme Court decision that would allow a vast increase in the amount of money corporations can give to campaigns.
Morgan Stanley will continue its old policy of not engaging in direct independent political expenditures or electioneering communications as defined under federal election law; it will also not contribute to 501c(4) entities. It will continue, however, to contribute to PACs, reports CNBC.
This move suggests that fears of big companies aligning themselves directly with the Republicans in this election cycle may be overblown a bit.
For more:
- here's the article
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