The uncertainty surrounding tariffs affects business deals and borrowing, prompting private equity and government officials to await further information.

Bankers in this field want to get back to work, yet they are cautious and are expecting further steps from private equity, borrowers and the existing administration. At the Goldman Sachs’ 10th annual leveraged finance conference, Christina Minnis, head of global credit finance, underlined that deals depend heavily on private equity sponsors in the business community.

Although mergers and acquisitions as well as corporate borrowing have gone up, private equity sponsors are having difficulties when it comes to exiting investments because global fundraising has slowed down. Because of this, Wall Street banks are dealing with fewer opportunities in the area of financing. Chris Bonner, head of US leveraged finance capital markets at Goldman, said that it is difficult to predict how future exits will unfold because of unpredictable factors.

Anxiety about president Trump’s tariffs persists among bankers as many believe it will unpredictably influence their corporate borrowers. Team members at the conference focused on a US court ruling that removed these tariffs which a court of appeals later decided against.

Goldman Sachs’ chief economist, Jan Hatzius, gave his opinions on how the administration is dealing with tariffs and trade imbalances. While facing difficulties caused by tariffs and inflation, as unemployment increased, Minnis indicated that large companies could still manage the sudden shocks.

In general, businesses are approaching the future with a sense of caution, while hoping updated policies will make working in the leveraged finance area easier.