Trump credit card plan would be ‘disaster’, JP Morgan boss Dimon warns

Trump has proposed capping credit card interest rates at 10% for one year, and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is warning that this would be an “economic disaster” that could sharply reduce access to credit, especially for higher‑risk borrowers.

What Trump is proposing

• President Donald Trump is backing a plan to limit credit card interest rates to a maximum of 10% for one year, framing it as relief for Americans who face rates of 20–30% or more.

• He has urged Congress to pass legislation to enforce this temporary cap and has argued that card companies are making large profits and should “give some relief.”

Dimon’s main warnings

• Jamie Dimon says a 10% cap “would be an economic disaster” and could force a major contraction in the credit card business.

• He estimates it would “remove credit from 80% of Americans,” stressing that for many, cards are a backup source of emergency funds.

Who Dimon says would be hurt

• Dimon argues the biggest losers would not be the large banks, which he says would “survive,” but ordinary consumers who lose access to unsecured credit.

• He also warns that restaurants, retailers, travel firms, schools and even local governments could be hit if people cannot use cards to cover everyday and essential bills, such as utilities.

Political angle

• The proposal unusually aligns Trump with progressive Democrats like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who have long pushed for interest caps.

• Dimon jokingly suggested the government should “test” the 10% cap in Vermont and Massachusetts, the states Sanders and Warren represent, to show how the policy would work in practice.

Why banks oppose a 10% cap

• Credit card rates are typically higher than other loans because they are unsecured and used heavily by riskier borrowers; banks say a strict cap would make lending to those customers uneconomic.

• Executives and analysts caution that a hard 10% ceiling could lead issuers to slash credit limits, close accounts, and tighten approvals, leaving many people with fewer options in a downturn.