The administration has said the proposed limit would improve affordability for everyday consumers, while banks have warned it could reduce credit availability because they would be unable to adequately price the risk associated with unsecured credit card loans.
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On 17 January 2026, 02:30 AM IST
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Trump called on companies to comply by January 20, but it is unclear whether the move can be implemented unilaterally without legislation.
JPMorgan Chase shares fell 1.8%, while Citigroup fell 2.4%. Wells Fargo was last down 0.6%.
“For now, it’s an overhang, but if it’s more of a call for Congress to do something rather than some specific policy action by the executive office, it could become clearer faster,” Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management, told Reuters.
Investment banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs also fell 2.2% and 1.5% respectively. The S&P 500 Banks Index was last down 1.2%.
JPMorgan executives, including CEO Jamie Dimon, warned last week that the move would hurt clients. The biggest US lender also signaled that “everything is on the table” when asked if it would take legal action.
The move to cap credit card interest rates comes amid mounting pressure from the Trump administration against the banking sector, which the president accused of restricting financial services to some controversial industries. The administration has also opened an investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Dimon confirmed on Saturday that he had not been asked to become the next Federal Reserve chairman, hours after Trump disputed a report that said he had offered the role to Dimon.
Trump has said he plans to sue JPMorgan in the next two weeks for allegedly “debanking” it after its supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
A possible compromise
If the proposal is implemented in its current form, banks’ interest income, which is the main engine of profit, will take a significant hit, according to industry experts.
The American Bankers Association, citing new data from credit card issuers, said Tuesday that at least 137 million cardholders and as many as 159 million people would no longer be able to use their cards if the rate cap were implemented.
US Bancorp CEO Gunjan Kedia also said the proposed 10% cap would severely impact its customers. “We estimate that more than 90 percent of our customers would be adversely affected if there was a 10% rate cap on credit cards,” she said.
“We have observed that over the past few days, the conversation around the rate cap has shifted to a more productive one.”
Analysts said card providers could make compromising gestures with innovative offers, such as lower rates for certain customers, no-frills cards that may charge 10% but have no rewards or lower credit limits.
“We believe a political compromise is in the works to ensure the president does not force Congress to impose a 10% cap on credit card interest rates,” TD Cowen analysts said in a note.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett previously floated the idea of ”Trump cards” that banks would offer voluntarily rather than being forced by the new law, without giving any details on what the cards would offer.
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