Year in review

The last Short and Street of this year celebrates our best work. I'm so proud of what the U.S. finance crew has accomplished this year. More importantly, I'm grateful to work in a newsroom with journalists who have each other's backs. From shared source meetings, to joint bylines, to covering events across teams, I am inspired by Reuters colleagues who work together and celebrate shared wins. We have navigated plenty of challenges in 2024, and I hope that the growth and resilience from those experiences create a solid foundation for a rocking 2025. I'm optimistic about what's to come. Here's what kept us busy:

Wall Street bankers expressed optimism about President-elect Donald Trump's deregulatory agenda, which was tempered by uncertainty over his personnel and policies. Trump picked hedge fund veteran Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary and chose Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick to lead the Commerce department.

JPMorgan made a lot of news. Nupur Anand got the scoop that CEO Jamie Dimon was planning to stay at the bank and had no plans to join the Trump administration. She also took a deep dive into the 10-15% "Jamie premium" in the bank's stock as it prepares for eventual CEO succession. We also covered leadership changes in its investment bank and payments division, as well as expansion plans in Africa.

Bank of America discussed its plan to open 165 U.S. branches by the end of 2026 with Saeed Azhar . He also covered the death of a junior banker at BofA, which revived an industry discussion about grueling working hours.

Citigroup's regulatory woes were a major focus. Tatiana Bautzer , Saeed and I worked as a team to break news that the bank had been rebuked by regulators, breached a Fed rule and struggled to adequately train employees in risk roles.

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo is in the last stages of a process to pass regulatory tests to lift a $1.95 trillion asset cap, Nupur reported.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon was bullish about the outlook for 2025 when he sat down with me at Reuters NEXT . The bank is pushing deeper into a growing but risky market of fund financing, and it aims to double its lending over the next five years to ultra-wealthy clients, Saeed reported. Goldman recruited dozens of small business owners from all over the country in its battle against the so-called Basel Endgame, Peter Schroeder reported.

Morgan Stanley's new CEO Ted Pick took over at the start of the year. Its asset management division aims to double its private credit portfolio to $50 billion, Tatiana and Saeed reported.

On the regulatory front, Pete also got the scoop that U.S. regulators would significantly reduce capital proposals under Basel Endgame, which was later confirmed by Fed Chair Jay Powell.

In this week's field report, here's my collage from the year:

I hope my dispatches have been engaging and helpful this year. Thank you to all of you who contributed to our coverage with tips, expertise and feedback. Wishing you all a happy, healthy and fulfilling 2025.

Best,

Lananh