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Scott Bessent: “Bank stocks are at a new high through my position on fsoc…”

Featuring: Scott Bessent, Republican | Secretary of the Treasury | National

Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury

Published January 20, 2026 | Video Starts at 23:34

Okay. The cap on credit card rates is expected to cut into bank earnings between 5 and 18%. Your reaction? We've done a lot this year. Banks, Bank stocks are at a new high through my position on fsoc, the Financial Stability Oversight Council. and the three bank regulators, the Federal Reserve, the occ, the fdic, we have done a lot to deregulate banks or earnings are way up. More importantly, it has increased their lending capacity. (23:34–23:54)

CLAIM

Asserts that bank stocks have reached a new high, partly due to actions taken by the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Scott Bessent

“Japan over the past two days has had a six standard deviation move in their bond market.”
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“The United States of America since 1980 has contributed $22 trillion more dollars or spent $22 trillion more dollars on defense than all of…”
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“97% of the high end chips are made in Taiwan.”
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“We have lost more than 50% of the small and community banks.”
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“President Trump put a 25% tariff on [India]. And India has geared down and has stopped buying Russian oil.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 31:56-32:05
“The president has a very strong view on Western hemispheric security and believes that the US should not outsource our national security.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 03:32-03:41
“He believes that Greenland is essential for the Golden Dome missile shield.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 03:41-03:47
“Greenland's becoming more and more attractive for foreign conquests.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 04:06-04:14
“No country is going to assert control [over] Greenland if the US controls Greenland.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 04:57-05:04
“This has been in the minds of American Presidents for more than 150 years.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 05:58-06:04
“The President has said that he on February 1 will implement a 10% tariff if the Danes do not want to give up Greenland.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 07:32-07:49
“When President Trump came in in his first term, the European countries and Canada were not meeting their spending quote as a percent of GDP…”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 08:16-08:32
“Everyone has [stepped up defense spending], except Spain.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 09:12-09:14
“For the fiscal year which ends September 30th, we had a fiscal contraction. For the calendar year, we had a very large fiscal contraction…”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 10:12-10:28
“Calendar year 2024 was 6.9%, the highest we've ever had when the US was not at war or not in a recession.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 10:30-10:37
“Calendar year 2025, 5.4%. I have called for getting that number down to 3% by the end of President Trump's term.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 10:45-10:54
“US bond market had its best performing year since 2020.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 11:19-11:25
“The Japan situation, that the market there again had a six standard deviation move and that was happening before any of the Greenland news.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 12:00-12:15
“The first IPA tariffs were fentanyl tariffs. So on Mexico, on Canada, on China.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 13:20-13:28
“On October 8, the Chinese government announced Rare earth export controls on the entire world, not just the US.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 13:51-13:59
“They have completed their soybean purchases and we're looking forward to next year's 25 million tons.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 15:09-15:18
“They've done everything that they said they're going to do.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 15:26-15:29
“They are flowing as expected. We are in a fulfillment rate that's in the 90s.”
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“4.3% GDP, there was private sector GDP, so are actually after the fiscal contraction.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 16:29-16:40
“The government contracted by 0.4.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 16:42-16:45
“President Trump's economic policy, tax deals, trade deals, and deregulation.”
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“We're seeing 12, 14% CapEx growth in the U.S.”
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“Price prices are high. That the Biden administration was a wipeout for working Americans, that the price level increased by 21, 22, 23%.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 19:13-19:26
“Real incomes have gone up every month since President Trump took office.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 20:13-20:18
“Institutional investors hoovered up single family homes post the financial crisis.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 21:49-21:57
“Institutional investors can deduct the borrowing amount, but they can also expense any repairs and depreciation.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 22:08-22:17
“Institutional investors are much higher in boomtown markets like Charlotte, like Atlanta, like Huntsville, Alabama.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 22:53-23:02
“Oliver Wyman's numbers estimate that there's 2.5 trillion of extra lending capacity.”
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“Defense contractors are five, six, seven years behind on fulfillment of their contracts.”
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“Several companies have tried to stand up critical minerals facilities in the US and the Chinese come lower price, undercut them and then…”
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“We are going to put in a system, price floor, price ceilings.”
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“We are working at warp speed to create a critical minerals block where we can mine, process and refine critical minerals.”
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“For energy, we are independent. We're the an energy superpower.”
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“In South Carolina, for the first time in 25 years, there's a producer there who made rare earth magnets.”
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“They believe that within two years, they can fulfill most of the rare earth magic magnet needs for the US.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 29:48-29:56
“President Trump ordered Treasury and our OFAC division, Office of Foreign Asset Control, to put maximum pressure on Iran.”
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“In December, [Iran's] economy collapsed. We saw a major bank go under. The central bank has started to print money.”
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“Historically, every productivity boom has led to job growth.”
Conversation with Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury | Uploaded January 20, 2026 | 33:04-33:12
“The Russell Index of smaller cap stocks has outperformed. The S and P equal weight has outperformed.”
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“The US is the innovation capital of the world.”
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“The EU was supposed to cut down on red tape, but it is logarithmically increased it.”
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“It is easier doing business in China than the EU.”
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“It took me 90 days to get an appointment with Ursa van der Waden.”
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