Wall Street's favorite presidential candidates are still Republican Jeb Bush and Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to quarterly fundraising reports released this week.
Bush, a former Florida governor, took in more than $922,000 from people who said they work as bankers and investors, amounting to seven percent of his total haul and about the same amount received from the industry in the previous quarter, reported Politico.
Former Secretary of State Clinton, who insisted during the first Democratic primary debate that she plans to increase regulations on banks and hold Wall Street accountable, trailed with $682,000 from the finance industry, much less than the $2 million she took in from the industry in the second quarter.
In addition, several bundlers, including employees from Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, helped raise more than $100,000 for Clinton, according to Reuters. The wife of Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Laura Blankfein, gave Clinton the maximum donation of $2,700 last quarter, as did the chairman and CEO of Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, and billionaire Democratic power player George Soros, Politico noted.
The head of a large banking association says that Clinton's promise to tighten regulations on big banks and Wall Street is mere pandering designed to counter calls from her closest Democratic rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, who says he is the only candidate who would truly fight the financial sector. Sanders filed legislation in May designed to break up major banks like Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., reported The Hill.
"She's gonna all of a sudden become Mrs. Wall Street if she's elected. So it's all Bernie theatrics right now," Camden Fine, the head of the Independent Community Bankers of America, told the Morning Consult. "She's a Clinton, for God's sake. What do you expect?"
The financial industry was the third-largest contributor to Clinton's 2008 presidential run, as well as to her Senate career. Lawyers and retirees were first and second, according to Politico.
Last quarter, Clinton brought in most of her money from lawyers, $3.1 million, while Bush drew about $845,000.
