JPMorgan’s CFO says Trump’s credit card plan would be ‘very bad’, reveals what it would actually do to Americans

JPMorgan Chase’s Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum warned about President Trump’s plan to cap credit card interest rates at 10%. Barnum said the cap “would be very bad for consumers, very bad for the economy.”

According to Bloomberg, Barnum explained why this policy would fail. The cap would not lower interest rates for customers. Instead, it would reduce how much credit Americans can access. Banks would stop giving credit cards to people they see as risky borrowers if they cannot make enough money to cover potential losses.

This affects people who depend on credit cards for emergencies or to build credit history. If banks cannot profit enough to handle the risk, they will simply refuse to issue cards to many Americans. So, an interest cap could wreak havoc across the US economy, despite the early praise from mass people. 

JPMorgan leaders worry about Federal Reserve independence too

Barnum made these comments during JPMorgan’s earnings call. CEO Jamie Dimon also spoke about protecting the Federal Reserve’s independence. Dimon believes weakening the Fed’s autonomy would increase inflation expectations. He said, “I don’t agree with what has been said and done. I have enormous respect for Jay Powell.”

Barnum added that losing Fed independence would create a steeper yield curve. This would threaten global economic stability and hurt U.S. economic growth. While political debates continue in Washington, GOP lawmakers raise concerns about Trump’s investigations on other fronts as well.

Trump set a January 20 deadline for the proposed interest rate cap. Barnum did not reveal how JPMorgan will respond, but the bank is clearly opposed to the plan. Despite these policy concerns, JPMorgan reported strong earnings. 

The bank beat analyst expectations and showed solid performance. Revenue rose 7% to $46.8 billion. Profit dropped 7% to $13 billion, or $4.63 per share. However, excluding certain items, the bank earned $5.23 per share, beating the $4.85 analysts expected.

The bank’s credit loss provisions increased to $4.7 billion from $2.6 billion. This jump happened because JPMorgan reserved $2.2 billion for taking over Apple’s credit card business from Goldman Sachs. This was not due to customers failing to pay their debts. 

Dimon remains positive about the economy, noting it has “remained resilient.” Consumers keep spending and businesses stay healthy. The bank now manages over $7 trillion in assets and expects $103 billion in net interest income for 2026, even as political leaders boast about economic performance.