BofA CEO expects Fed to hold on rates, urges simpler regulation

By Saeed Azhar

(Reuters) - Bank of America expects the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady this year and into next year, CEO Brian Moynihan said on Tuesday.

"It takes multiple years to squeeze inflation out," and the Fed's efforts to tame inflation will most likely last until 2026, Moynihan told a conference in Washington.

Fed policymakers have kept rates unchanged as they seek to move inflation toward a 2% target.

Moynihan also said simplifying U.S. bank regulations would be a good idea, echoing comments from other industry executives.

"Get us the rational regulatory structure and have it stick to the ribs," Moynihan said. "If you keep swinging like this, our clients can't depend on us when they need us," Moynihan said, referring to shifting policies during successive presidential administrations.

Bank of America and JPMorgan plan to lobby the White House and Congress to defend themselves from accusations by President Donald Trump and others that they have shut down conservative customers' accounts on political grounds.

Trump's criticism echoed longstanding "debanking" complaints from Republicans, who have accused Wall Street banks of "woke capitalism," as well as denying services to gunmakers, fossil-fuel companies and others perceived to be aligned with the political right.

Moynihan called for more dialog about regulations on anti-money laundering, know-your-customer and reporting requirements.

"There's a lot of burden upon the banking system to both report suspicious activity and do a lot of analysis, and we have to close accounts - we can't tell people why we did," Moynihan said. "It's about getting these regulations right."

(Reporting by Saeed Azhar, editing by Lananh Nguyen and Nick Zieminski)