Trump pushes a 1-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates and banks balk

NEW YORK (AP) — Reviving a run pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% headdress connected recognition paper involvement rates, a determination that could prevention Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew contiguous absorption from an manufacture that has been successful his corner.

Trump was not wide successful his societal media station Friday nighttime whether a headdress mightiness instrumentality effect done enforcement enactment oregon legislation, though 1 Republican legislator said helium had spoken with the president and would enactment connected a measure with his “full support.” Trump said helium hoped it would beryllium successful spot Jan. 20, 1 twelvemonth aft helium took office.

Strong absorption is definite from Wall Street and the recognition paper companies, which donated heavy to his 2024 run and to enactment his second-term agenda.

“We volition nary longer fto the American Public beryllium ripped disconnected by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%,” Trump wrote connected his Truth Social platform.

Researchers who studied Trump’s run pledge aft it was archetypal announced recovered that Americans would prevention astir $100 cardinal successful involvement a twelvemonth if recognition paper rates were capped astatine 10%. The aforesaid researchers recovered that portion the recognition paper manufacture would instrumentality a large hit, it would inactive beryllium profitable, though recognition paper rewards and different perks mightiness beryllium scaled back.

Americans are paying, connected average, betwixt 19.65% and 21.5% successful involvement connected recognition cards according to the Federal Reserve and different manufacture tracking sources. That has travel down successful the past twelvemonth arsenic the cardinal slope lowered benchmark rates, but is adjacent the highs since national regulators started tracking recognition paper rates successful the mid-1990s.

The Republican medication has proved peculiarly affable until present to the recognition paper industry.

Capital One got small absorption from the White House erstwhile it finalized its acquisition and merger with Discover Financial successful aboriginal 2025, a woody that created the nation’s largest recognition paper company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is mostly tasked with going aft recognition paper companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been mostly nonfunctional since Trump took office.

In a associated statement, the banking manufacture was opposed to Trump's proposal.

“If enacted, this headdress would lone thrust consumers toward little regulated, much costly alternatives," the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.

The White House did not respond to questions astir however the president seeks to headdress the complaint oregon whether helium has spoken with recognition paper companies astir the idea.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said helium talked with Trump connected Friday night, said the effort is meant to “lower costs for American families and to reign successful greedy recognition paper companies who person been ripping disconnected hardworking Americans for excessively long."