Citi CEO bullish on US economy and entrepreneurship under Trump leadership
The leader of one of America’s biggest banks has offered a bullish outlook for the American economy and entrepreneurship under President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s leadership.
Joining "Mornings with Maria" for an exclusive interview, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser claimed the bank is "very encouraged" by the "clarity" coming from Washington.
"I never think it's a good idea to underestimate the American entrepreneur and the American economy for sure," Fraser said Thursday.
"We've been very encouraged by the direction that Secretary Bessent has been laying out, predominantly in letting banks be banks," she continued. "Clarity is really what's most important here, and they've been very clear that it's going to take a bit of time for the tax bill to come through, the deregulation to get [effective], as well as the changes, say, to the tariffs."
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Global markets are recognizing that the president is resolute in addressing different trade and structural imbalances, the CEO argued. Despite recent legal uncertainty around Trump’s tariff agenda, Fraser advised a fair and "measured" response to volatility.
"The structural advantages for us — we have scale. We have an integrated capital market that's broad and deep. We have labor mobility," Fraser noted.
"[I] had the great privilege and pleasure to be with the president in Saudi and the Middle East. They've got strong momentum behind them, good long-term vision, as well as short-term momentum, be it in energy and the data centers and the AI space," she added. "At the end of the day, all roads were leading to the U.S. at the beginning of this year for a reason."
At Citigroup, the focus remains on helping Main Street and offering stability amid any financial risks.
"How is it that we can do our job of supporting Main Street? So what are we doing to [ensure] access to credit for our consumers, small businesses and other smaller banks in the banking system? What are we doing about providing investment opportunities and saving opportunities?" Fraser highlighted.
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"And I think getting the banks to be more focused on material financial risks is going to be a benefit to all of our customers," the CEO said.
"Once we've got that clarity, then I think companies will adapt, and then they'll start making investments that will help drive growth forward, as well as, we'll be doing our job to bring investment into America in line with what the administration is trying to achieve."