Wall Street was preparing to work alongside Zohran Mamdani a day after the Democratic Socialist won the New York City mayoral race, a win set to reverberate through the heart of global capitalism as financiers worry the city's competitiveness and business appeal could suffer.

New York's mayor has no direct oversight over Wall Street, but the role plays into perceptions of whether the city is business-friendly.

Wall Street and the finance industry had broad misgivings about Mamdani becoming mayor, but many are hopeful he will moderate his positions or face roadblocks to hiking taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

"We have a deep interest in New York City to make sure it's successful," Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan told reporters at the bank's investor day in Boston on Wednesday. "It's of high interest to us, and making sure that he gets the best advice from those teammates is important to us."

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon signaled the largest U.S. bank's willingness to help Mamdani. "Some mayors who don't have administrative experience get good at it pretty quick, because they're on the firing line ... some mayors don't."

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Mamdani's win "will be an interesting experiment and we'll see how much he tries to really change New York City," said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York.

Decisive Democratic victories in Virginia and New Jersey and the passage of a California redistricting measure also signaled Democrats might have a better chance of winning back the U.S. House of Representatives in next year's mid-term elections, investors and analysts said.

Republicans hold the presidency and majorities in both the Senate and the House.

If Democrats retake one of those chambers next year, Washington gridlock could ensue, making policymaking more predictable — an outcome investors have often favored. Democrats may be emboldened to stand firm on the ongoing U.S. government shutdown and negotiate harder on cryptocurrency legislation and energy permitting reform, Brian Gardner, chief Washington policy strategist at Stifel, wrote in a note on Wednesday.

AFFORDABILITY CAMPAIGN

Mamdani focused his campaign on affordability. His agenda includes a rent freeze for rent-stabilized apartments, free bus services, universal child care, and city-run grocery stores.

"There would be real concern about the real estate housing industry's appetite for significant investment in New York," if Mamdani pursues his promised rent controls, said David Funk, executive director of the American Real Estate Society. While many financiers say they sympathize with the affordability issues Mamdani has raised, they expressed misgivings about his tax policies.

"When I look at the economics around the cost of living in New York City and when a one-bedroom apartment in New York City is $5,000 a month, that's unsustainable," Phil Blancato, chief market strategist at Osaic in New York, said after the results. "But when you think about the increase in taxes at the small-business level, corporate level ... that has a significant impact."

HOPE FOR MODERATION

Some financiers hope Mamdani will moderate his positions. Others expect his agenda will quickly confront roadblocks.

While the mayor has power to advance policies affecting property owners, renewable energy, and immigration, Mamdani's most transformative proposals, including raising taxes and wage floors, and freezing rents, are beyond unilateral mayoral control, Jefferies analysts wrote in a note late Tuesday night.

"Actual policy often turns out much more benign than campaign rhetoric, but if other major cities follow this pattern, markets may start pricing in more tax and regulatory risks," said Dean Lyulkin, CEO of Cardiff, a private investment firm and small-business lender, ahead of the election result.

Some finance heavyweights, including investors Bill Ackman and Dan Loeb, funded efforts to defeat Mamdani, whose chief opponent was Andrew Cuomo, the former Democratic New York governor who ran as an independent.

On social media, Ackman congratulated the mayor-elect, adding: "Now you have a big responsibility." Other Wall Street leaders are focusing on how to work with him, and Mamdani has been engaging with business leaders.

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He spoke with CEOs in meetings organized by the Partnership for New York City, whose members include Wall Street banks, private equity firms and law firms, according to the organization's CEO Kathryn Wylde.

"The business community has had concerns, and I would say at this minute are watching for what the next steps are, who the mayor-elect appoints to key positions," Wylde said.

"The real estate community is particularly concerned, but he has met with them and has signaled that he's pro-development," said Wylde, adding that the mayor can influence real estate decisions and land use decisions. "He wants to make sure we get a lot of housing built. And so that's been somewhat reassuring."

Another concern is the future relationship between New York City and the administration in Washington. In his victory speech, Mamdani called out Republican President Donald Trump. Wylde said there is a concern in the business community about a possibly contentious relationship with Washington.

Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec said the mayor-elect's affordability agenda is good for the economy, as the child care provision will help businesses.

"It's important that we have high quality of life for New Yorkers so that they want to keep starting businesses here," Pekec said.