Mnuchin previously served on the board of CIT, a midsized lender, and my have personal insight into the harsher realities of operating a smaller bank under Dodd-Frank. While he is likely to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest, some believe that his experience at CIT will make him more aware of the struggles of small and midsized institutions.
Consequently, if the government does decide to roll back some of the policies under Dodd-Frank, the smaller bank segment may enjoy a quicker recovery. Potential investors seeking to capitalize on the windfall may consider a number of ETFs that target smaller banks.
For example, the First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund (NasdaqGM: QABA), PowerShares S&P SmallCap Financials Portfolio (NYSEArca: PSCF) and PowerShares KBW Regional Bank Portfolio (NYSEArca: KBWR) include large tilts toward small- and micro-cap bank stocks.
The larger and more popular SPDR S&P Bank ETF (NYSEArca: KBE) and SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (NYSEArca: KRE) also include large tilts toward the small and midsized segments, along with some large-cap exposure. KBE and KRE equally weight their component holdings and have a larger weights toward mid-caps, along with large-caps.
For more information on bank stocks, visit our financial category.