Even small donations by junior employees can get banks in hot water with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In the last presidential election, Wall Street donors turned out for Joe Biden, contributing more than $74 million to his 2020 campaign, per the Center for Responsive Politics data.
This time around, Democrat-leaning bankers have their hands tied due to Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice of running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Financial services firms risk the wrath of the Securities and Exchange Commission if their employees make campaign contributions to state or local officials such as Walz. Donating to the campaign would violate the regulator’s « pay-to-play » rule, which keeps firms from trying to sway politicians for favors such as managing their state’s pension fund.
To heed this rule, Citigroup told US employees on August 6 that they must seek pre-approval to donate to the Harris-Walz campaign, according to a memo seen by Business Insider. These restrictions apply to employees who belong to all but one of its five business units, including investment banking and wealth management. The US consumer banking division is exempt.
Citi employees are not required to get pre-approval to donate to former President Donald Trump’s campaign unless they are designated as a « Municipal Finance Professional » or « Covered Associate » or are part of a « public-sector facing business.
