BUZZ-Bank stocks jump after Fed's Barr announces early resignation from regulatory job

U.S. bank stocks jump with the S&P 500 Banks Index .SPXBK, which tracks large-cap U.S. lenders, last up ~1.85%; KBW Regional Banking Index .KRX also trading ~2% higher

Michael Barr, the Fed's top regulatory official, says he plans to step down from his post on Feb. 28, avoiding a potentially messy legal fight with President-elect Donald Trump over his future at the U.S. central bank

The central bank says in a statement it would take up no major rulemaking until a successor to the regulatory role is confirmed

Barr's exit clears the way for Trump, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20, to appoint all new bank regulators for the U.S. government

U.S. lenders are hoping for an easier regulatory landscape under the new Trump administration

Major U.S. banks JPMorgan Chase JPM.N, Wells Fargo WFC.N, Goldman Sachs GS.N, Morgan Stanley MS.N, Citigroup C.N and Bank of America BAC.N up between 1.2% and 3.8%

Regional banks Western Alliance WAL.N, Banc of California BANC.N and Customers Bancorp CUBI.N were last up between 3.9% and 2.9%

(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru)

((Manya.Saini@thomsonreuters.com))