On January 22, 2026, US President Trump announced on Wednesday, January 21, that he will urge Congress to pass legislation to cap credit card interest rates at 10%. Earlier this month, Trump posted on social media asking banks to voluntarily lower rates.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday, Trump stated, “I am asking Congress to set the upper limit of credit card interest rates at 10% for a period of one year, which will help millions of Americans save money to buy homes.”
He pointed out, “One of the biggest obstacles to saving for a down payment is the surge in credit card debt.”
“They charge Americans rates of 28%, 30%, 31%, 32%,” Trump said, while complaining about the lack of regulations on high-interest loans in the US.
Earlier this month, Trump had already voiced concerns about credit card interest rates, urging the implementation of a one-year rate limit on social media. This has led the financial industry to scramble to find solutions, but the implementation of this policy by Trump remains unclear.
Bank executives have pushed back against this policy. Just before Trump’s speech on Wednesday, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, warned that this move could bring about an “economic disaster” in the US, leading to many lenders retracting consumer credit limits.
The measures proposed by Trump will require broad support in Congress. However, last week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune stated that setting an interest rate cap “may prevent a large number of people nationwide from accessing credit.” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson also mentioned that resolving the differences regarding the proposal will require considerable effort.
Among the options available to the Trump administration to pressure US banks on credit card rates, the legislative approach may pose a smaller threat. Last year, Senators Josh Hawley of Missouri and Bernie Sanders of Vermont introduced a bill to limit credit card annual interest rates to below 10% for a five-year period, but Congress set aside the bill.
After Trump first mentioned his plan to limit credit card rates earlier this month, financial stocks experienced a decline. However, following Trump’s statements on Wednesday, bank stocks rose. The KBW Bank index surged by 2.2% in early trading, and Capital One’s stock price rose by 1.9%, as this US bank relies heavily on credit card operations for revenue.