Trump Proposes Cap on Credit Card Interest Rates
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 5 days ago
0mins
Source: Fool
- Proposed Interest Rate Cap: President Trump has proposed a cap on credit card interest rates at 10% as part of his initiative to improve affordability for Americans, which could negatively impact revenue for credit card issuers like JPMorgan Chase and Capital One.
- Market Size and Impact: With over $1.2 trillion in credit card debt held by Americans and current rates often between 25% and 30%, the proposal could restrict credit to only the most creditworthy borrowers, potentially affecting popular points and rewards systems.
- Legislative Hurdles and Industry Pushback: The proposal faces significant legislative hurdles and is unlikely to gain bipartisan support, compounded by the powerful lobbying efforts of the banking industry aimed at protecting their interests.
- Visa and Mastercard's Competitive Edge: Unlike credit card issuers, Visa and Mastercard do not assume credit risk, and while the proposal may reduce credit card spending, these companies continue to earn fees from transactions, benefiting from a strong network effect and maintaining high profit margins.
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Analyst Views on V
Wall Street analysts forecast V stock price to rise
25 Analyst Rating
23 Buy
2 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 324.180
Low
330.00
Averages
406.59
High
450.00
Current: 324.180
Low
330.00
Averages
406.59
High
450.00
About V
Visa Inc. is a global payments technology company. It facilitates global commerce and money movement across more than 200 countries and territories among a global set of consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities through technologies. It operates through the Payment Services segment. It provides transaction processing services (primarily authorization, clearing and settlement) to its financial institution and merchant clients through VisaNet, its proprietary advanced transaction processing network. It offers a range of Visa-branded payment products that its clients, including nearly 14,500 financial institutions, use to develop and offer payment solutions or services, including credit, debit, prepaid and cash access programs for individual, business and government account holders. It also provides value-added services to its clients, including issuing solutions, acceptance solutions, risk and identity solutions, open banking solutions and advisory services.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Political Pressure Intensifies: Amid persistent inflation, Trump and Sanders have found common ground in seeking to lower credit card annual percentage rates, with Trump proposing a 10% cap and Sanders advocating for a permanent 15% cap, potentially reshaping the profitability of credit card companies.
- Cautious Industry Response: Major credit card issuers like Capital One are in a holding pattern amidst political rhetoric, fearing that if a cap is implemented, they will be compelled to cut credit lines, adversely affecting credit access for lower-income households.
- Profitability at Risk: Analysts predict that a long-term rate cap could reduce Capital One's earnings per share by 25% or wipe them out entirely, as credit card operations account for approximately 74% of its total revenue, primarily derived from interest on customer balances.
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