Marianne Lake leads JPMorgan Chase’s (JPM) extensive consumer banking operations, making her one of the most powerful people in the industry.
She is also one of the frontrunners to succeed CEO Jamie Dimon when the old boss decides to stop running the country’s largest bank.
Lake stepped into the spotlight last week at Goldman Sachs’ (GS) financial services conference in Manhattan, where investors received a bullish update on the bank’s performance in the fourth quarter (investment banking costs will rise 45%) and 2025 ( a major revenue source will be $2 billion more than expected).
JPMorgan’s CEO of consumer and community banking told investors there are “reasons to be optimistic” about 2025, a sentiment many others in her industry echoed last week as they cheered the incoming Trump White House.
The hope is that credit churn and dealmaking will increase, while a new Republican administration will loosen some rules for banks and be more lenient in approving the kind of corporate mergers that deliver big profits for Wall Street giants.
Read more: How do banks make money?
Banks are also hoping a new government will think twice about a new set of controversial capital rules proposed by regulators of major banks that would require lenders to set aside bigger buffers for future losses.
Lake, who is 55 years old, elaborated on her views in a conversation with Yahoo Finance, which covered a number of topics that are a priority for her industry.
Lake has not been shy in the past about expressing her concerns about upcoming regulations and legislation that she and others say will harm banks and their customers.
In addition to the proposal that could increase capital requirements for banks, she this week cited three specific examples of rules or legislation that are of concern.
One reduces debit card fees, one reduces debit card interchange fees, and one makes it easier for customers to transfer their personal information between banks.
The day after she gave her speech, the Biden administration released another new rule that banks are opposing: a $5 limit on overdrafts imposed by the CFPB. It quickly resulted in a lawsuit from bank lobby groups.
She does expect that the new government will have a chance to reverse some of these proposals.
When it comes to the “storm of new regulatory restrictions,” Lake told Yahoo Finance, “we are optimistic about the opportunities for collaboration between the business community and the new administration.”
Some economists are concerned that Trump 2.0 policies will prove inflationary, adding to ongoing price pressures.
Lake said the bank shares the general consensus that tariffs and trade policy will have an impact and that Trump’s stance on China will be tougher.
“Our central case is that this will have an impact on inflation,” but “it’s more of a headwind than a derailment.”
There may be “second order consequences” in additional costs to consumers and to employment.
“But we think they will be more modest.”
Lake sounded optimistic about the economic picture, citing the central bank’s ability to prevent a recession while reducing inflation.
The Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates for the third time in a row next Wednesday as it shifts to easing monetary policy and (so far) avoids a recession.
“As we sit here today, we believe the Fed has, at the very least potentially, engineered a soft landing,” she told Yahoo Finance.
Read more: What the Fed’s interest rate cut means for bank accounts, CDs, loans and credit cards
“If we get more and more confident about that, and if some of the inflationary pressures or the risk to growth are somewhat modest, then I think you could translate the animal spirits.”
But she expects the longer end of rates to “remain somewhat anchored” through 2025, meaning homeowners may not see much relief in the form of lower mortgage borrowing costs.
“It therefore does not look like mortgage rates will fall substantially over the next twelve months. That is not our central expectation.”
Lake also discussed a massive expansion of JPMorgan’s office network, which added 150 locations this year.
At the end of October it had 4,906 physical locations. The bank plans to add another 350 by 2027.
The bank, she said, currently holds 11.3% of all U.S. deposits, having gained an average of about 30 basis points per year over the past decade.
‘It would be arrogant to assume that we can accelerate [that growth]but we will do it if we can.”
Click here for an in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events affecting stock prices
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
