Big banks push back on Trump's credit card cap, warning of 'significant' economic slowdown

Some of America’s apical bankers are informing that the president’s headdress connected recognition paper involvement rates would beryllium disastrous for lower-income consumers and the US system — not to notation their profits.

Faced with President Trump’s connection to slash their recognition paper involvement complaint interest income days earlier reporting 4th fourth earnings, elder executives for the nation’s 4 largest banks — JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), and Wells Fargo (WFC) — each said they hold that affordability is an issue, but that limiting recognition paper involvement rates isn’t the close attack to lick it.

“An involvement complaint headdress is not thing that we would oregon could support, frankly,” Citigroup’s outgoing CFO Mark Mason said Wednesday during a telephone with reporters.

Such a determination would “likely effect successful a important slowdown successful the economy,” Mason said, adding that “affordability is intelligibly an important contented and 1 that we look guardant to collaborating with the medication on.”

“We're each successful for affordability,” Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan told analysts connected Wednesday portion presenting the statement wherefore limiting recognition paper involvement rates would person adverse effects.

“If you bring the caps down, you're going to get restricted credit, meaning little radical volition get recognition cards, and the equilibrium disposable to them connected those recognition cards volition besides beryllium restricted. And truthful you person to equilibrium that against what you're trying to execute connected affordability,” Moynihan said.

Shares of Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase person fallen betwixt 5% and 8% implicit the past week.

Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America reported 4th fourth net connected Wednesday, portion JPMorgan reported connected Tuesday. Net income roseate astatine Wells Fargo and Bank of America but declined astatine JPMorgan and Citigroup erstwhile compared to the 4th fourth of 2024.

In a station connected Truth Social past Friday, President Trump called for a "one twelvemonth headdress connected Credit Card Interest Rates of 10%." The president has since doubled down connected the proposal, saying banks that didn't comply by Jan. 20 would beryllium successful violation. It's not wide however Trump plans to headdress paper fees without an enforcement order, voluntary action, oregon Congress archetypal passing legislation, analysts person said.

The imaginable cap’s interaction “would beryllium melodramatic connected subprime” customers, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said Tuesday.

“We each agree” connected the contented of affordability, Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf told analysts Wednesday during the bank’s net call. “We're precise overmuch aligned with trying to find solutions to assistance arsenic galore arsenic we can.”