Factbox-Top bank executives’ take on US presidential elections

(Reuters) – The U.S. election and geopolitical uncertainty are among the factors clients are focused on as they weigh their business decisions for the next few quarters, banking executives said on Friday.

U.S. President Joe Biden is facing calls to abandon his re-election bid after a feeble presidential debate performance against his rival, Republican Donald Trump, late last month.

Here is what the banking top deck had to say about the elections slated in November and geopolitics:

WELLS FARGO:

“Certainly it (U.S. election) is one of a number of issues that come up with clients when they think about the timing of any type of activity that they may be thinking about, whether it’s issuing debt, M&A activity or just normal investments that they make,” CFO Mike Santomassimo said.

“That’s just one of a number of things that people are thinking about as they look forward over the next 6, 9, 12 months, to make decisions.”

JPMORGAN CHASE:

“It’s (the U.S. election) obviously a topic that everyone’s talking about. I’m sure those conversations are happening but there is nothing that’s financially material in the context of earnings,” CFO Jeremy Barnum said.

BNY:

“We’ve got a whole bunch of other types of geopolitical risks out in the world. We’re sort of continuing to grind through elections that we’ve talked about, through the course of the year. There’re all sorts of other things happening,” CEO Robin Vince said.