Bill Hulse
Senior Vice President, Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Published
June 06, 2025
At the Chamber’s 2025 Capital Markets Summit, we gathered industry and policy experts to explore the role of business investment in driving economic growth and supporting communities.
Why it matters: Small businesses need to secure loans so they can hire employees and purchase equipment, access venture capital to finance groundbreaking innovations, and potentially enter the public markets so they have additional financial resources to bolster local economies.
Big picture: Michael Faulkender, U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary, emphasized the link between U.S. national security objectives "and maintaining our status as the world’s reserve currency in order to improve the lifestyles of the American people. Fundamental to achieving all of those goals,” he said, “...is realizing economic growth.”
Be smart: Public capital markets and initial public offerings (IPOs) are a critical tool for businesses and communities to thrive. “Once a company does go public, the average job growth is 23% in those companies every year, on average. So it is a job creation engine,” said Nasdaq President Nelson Griggs.
- Since the 1990s, the number of public companies has declined by 50%. Going public can cost small and medium-sized companies $4 million to $5 million, Griggs said.
Check it out: The U.S. Chamber and Nasdaq released a report with recommendations to revitalize the IPO market and improve the regulatory environment for public companies.
In other news: Congressman French Hill (R-AR-02), Chairman of the Financial Services Committee, underscored the Chamber’s commitment to a healthy public market:
- “The Chamber has been a hallmark of making our capital markets better… that's at the heart of what the House Financial Services Committee initiative is: improving access to capital.”
Travis Hill, acting Chairman of the FDIC, discussed the evolving regulatory landscape for banks.
- “Years ago, a lot of bank regulation was premised on the notion of trying to restrict competition in banking...over the years, a lot of that has changed, and now banks can basically compete anywhere in the country,” Hill stated.
Go deeper: Other leading policymakers addressed the summit as well, including Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL-11), SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda, acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood, and more. You can watch the full summit here.
The bottom line: The consensus at the summit was clear: access to capital is fundamental to economic growth, and with the right policies in place, businesses can continue to innovate, create jobs, and support communities across the nation.
About the author
Bill Hulse
Bill Hulse oversees the day-to-day efforts of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness (CCMC), including policy development and advocacy.
