Trump plan to cap credit card costs hits bank shares

Shares in banks and credit card firms have fallen after US President Donald Trump called for credit card costs to be capped.

On Friday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that interest rates on cards should be limited to 10% for one year from 20 January. He did not specify how such a cap might be introduced or whether such a move would be legally enforceable.

UK bank Barclays, which has a sizeable US card business, saw its shares fall 3.5%, while US firms such as American Express, Visa and Mastercard were lower in premarket trading.

US banking associations say capping rates will make it harder for people to access credit and be “devastating” for millions of families and small businesses.

In his statement on social media, Trump said: “Effective January 20, 2026, I, as President of the United States, am calling for a one year cap on Credit Card Interest Rates of 10%.

“Please be informed that we will no longer let the American Public be ‘ripped off’ by Credit Card Companies,” he added.

On Sunday, speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said credit card companies would be “in violation of the law” if they did not comply with his demands.

Shares in US banks fell in premarket trade on Monday, with JPMorgan Chase down 3.2% and Bank of America falling 2.5%. Among the credit card firms, American Express fell 4%, Visa dropped 1.2% and Mastercard was 2% lower.

However, US lawmakers have said such a cap would require a bill to passed by Congress.

“Begging credit card companies to play nice is a joke,” Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren said on X.

“I said a year ago if Trump was serious I’d work to pass a bill to cap rates. Since then, he’s done nothing but try to shut down the CFPB [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau]”.

Early last year, US Senators Bernie Sanders and Josh Hawley had introduced bipartisan legislation which aimed to cap interest rates on credit cards at 10% for five years, but it has yet to make it into law.

In April 2025, the Trump administration moved to throw out a regulation capping credit card late fees at $8. The rule had been brought in by President Joe Biden’s administration as part of a crackdown on “junk fees”.

Billionaire fund manager Bill Ackman said Trump’s aim to cut credit card rates was “a worthy and important one”.

However, he added he was worried that capping rates at 10% would “inevitably cause millions of Americans to have their cards cancelled as credit card companies lose the ability to adequately price subprime credit risk”.

A joint statement from five US banking bodies said they shared the president’s goal “of helping Americans access more affordable credit”.

However, they added that the proposed cap would “reduce credit availability and be devastating for millions of American families and small businesses who rely on and value their credit cards, the very consumers this proposal intends to help”.

“If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives.”