Jamie Dimon is no fan of President Trump's push to clamp down on credit card interest rates—and said a two-state test could make clear why. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, the JPMorgan Chase CEO said the federal government should try enforcing Trump's proposed 10% ceiling on credit card APRs in Vermont and Massachusetts. Those states are home to Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who support legislation that would cap card rates at 10% nationwide for five years. Dimon didn't name the senators but said banks should be "forced" to comply in those states so the country can "see what happens"; the crowd laughed in response.
"It would be an economic disaster," Dimon predicted. "In the worst case, you'd have a drastic reduction of the credit card business" for 80% of Americans. Dimon said "the left" and those in favor of such caps "will learn a real lesson, and the people crying the most won't be the credit card companies. It'll be the restaurants, the retailers, the travel companies, the schools, the municipalities, because people miss their water payments. It would be something else to watch." Trump had urged banks to voluntarily limit card rates for a year starting Tuesday, but major lenders told CNBC their rates remain unchanged.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that in his own WEF address on Tuesday, Trump again called for a cap on rates: "I am asking Congress to cap credit card interest rates at 10% for one year. One of the biggest barriers to saving for a down payment has been surging credit card debt. The profit margin for credit card companies now exceeds 50%, one of the biggest." Most banking analysts believe legislation would be required to force that move, and that it would have a slim chance of passing.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
