Trump tax plan

Major U.S. banks shaved about $21 billion from their tax bills last year — almost double the IRS’s annual budget — as the industry benefited more than many others from the Republican tax overhaul.

Banks earned $62 billion in the third quarter thanks to tax reform and higher asset yields, while the Deposit Insurance Fund crossed a statutory threshold.

Unlike previous spots produced by the group that just backed candidates, the latest ones reflect a somewhat different approach.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued a proposal that would allow pass-through businesses like Subchapter S banks to deduct 20% of their business income as part of the new tax law President Trump signed last year.

Democrats attempted to counter Republicans’ praise for the increased investment, wages and bonuses resulting from the tax bill by tying it to Wells Fargo's recent scandals.

With plenty of cash on hand, many commercial firms have had little need to tap existing credit lines.

Amid their recent policy victories and record earnings, big banks have also been forced to grapple with the possibility that commercial lending — the lifeblood for large regionals — may never fully come back.

Banks were helped by better loan spreads thanks to higher net interest margins, but the recently enacted tax cut helped boost profits by 27% from a year earlier.

In letters to the six largest U.S. banks, the Ohio Democrat accused the banking sector of moving call center jobs overseas while reaping benefits from the recent tax cut law.

The Pittsburgh bank opted to give more than half of its employees $2,000 pay hikes instead of the bonuses handed out by many rivals.