Jamie Dimon says U.S. should impose Trump credit card rate cap in Vermont, Massachusetts
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon speaks at the American Business Forum at the Kaseya Center in Miami on November 6, 2025.
Chandan Khanna | AFP | Getty Images
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Wednesday advocated testing President Donald Trump’s proposed 10 percent cap on credit card interest rates in two US states – Vermont and Massachusetts.
Speaking at a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Dimon answered a question about Trump’s decision to order banks to voluntarily cap interest rates for a year. The president had called for the lower rates to take effect on Tuesday.
Several major credit card issuers contacted by CNBC on Tuesday said they would not make any changes to interest rates but declined to say they all oppose Trump’s proposal.
“This would be an economic disaster,” Dimon said Wednesday. “Worst-case scenario, there would be a significant reduction in credit card business” for 80% of Americans, he said.
On earnings conference calls last week and behind the scenes, banks defied Trump’s order this month to voluntarily waive billions of dollars in revenue.
Their main argument, that price controls would result in lenders canceling the accounts of many card customers, resonated with many Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson. Most banking analysts believe Trump will require legislation to impose a nationwide cap on card rates.
‘Great idea’
Dimon later said he had a “great idea” to help resolve the dispute over the proposed card limit and suggested the U.S. government impose pricing controls on Americans in just two states.
Vermont and Massachusetts are home states of Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and both support capping card interest at 10% for five years. Dimon did not mention the lawmakers by name Wednesday.
“The US government should force all banks in two states, Vermont and Massachusetts, to do this and see what happens,” Dimon said, prompting laughter from the audience.
Dimon said the “left” and those advocating price controls “will learn a real lesson, and the ones crying the loudest won’t be the credit card companies.”
“There will be restaurants, retailers, travel companies, schools, municipalities because people are missing their water payments,” he said. “It would be something else to watch.”
Sanders’ office did not immediately respond to calls for comment.
Warren’s response read in part: “Today is January 21st, and not surprisingly, the big banks do not have a self-imposed interest rate cap on credit cards.” said Warren. “But Jamie Dimon and the world’s richest people flew in their private jets to a ski resort in Switzerland to complain that a bilateral decision to cap credit card interest rates would destroy life as we know it… It’s time to legislate and make it happen.”
Dimon added that JPMorgan plans to present to the Trump administration its analysis of what would happen under the national credit card rate cap.
“I think it’s wrong for the government to be extensively involved in the pricing of goods, but I’ve got to deal with the world I have,” Dimon said.
Contributed by CNBC’s Stephanie Dhue
