Live updates: News on Trump’s presidential election, Pam Bondi chosen as attorney general

Marc Rowan, a contender for what is arguably the most important financial job in the US government, is the CEO of Apollo Global Management, a giant of private equity, an industry notorious for its atrocious profit-for-anyone standards price.

The 62-year-old executive’s ascension to Donald Trump’s cabinet, if nominated and confirmed, could represent a major victory for one of the most powerful (and often despised) financial sectors.

As finance minister, Rowan would directly oversee the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which is nominally responsible for policing the “non-bank” financial system, including the private equity industry, where he is currently a major player. The Treasury also houses the IRS and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, which regulates banks.

More to the point, Rowan, as Treasury Secretary, would be able to ensure that these regulatory bodies continue to treat private equity as they always have under administrations of both Democrats and Republicans. That is, pretty much alone.

“The regulation really isn’t there,” said Bill Lazonick, president of the nonprofit Academic-Industry Research Network. “You don’t even know what private equity owns — everything is shielded by different types of transactions and corporate structures.”

It is impossible to know what kind of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rowan would be if elected. It’s hardly uncommon for industry leaders to join the government bodies that regulate the companies they previously worked for, and their reputations are, shall we say, mixed.

Read more about Rowan here.