Trump Spares Banks an Immigration Crackdown They Raced to Avert

For months, US banking executives fretted that President Donald Trump was poised to conscript their workforces in a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration that would send their firms’ costs soaring, drive away customers and leave loans unpaid.

Now, abruptly, Trump appears to be sparing them that trouble.

In an executive order, announced Tuesday, Trump told financial regulators to advise banks on how to spot patterns of suspicious activity, determine customers’ true identity and understand the risks of losing money on loans to illegal immigrants.

Those mandates, among others, fell far short of the measure industry representatives and some administration ...