Jamie Dimon rips Trump's credit card interest cap pitch: "economic disaster"

Driving the news: Dimon said Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos that JPMorgan "would survive it," but warned the broader effects would be severe.

• "In the worst case, you'd have to have a drastic reduction of the credit card business — I mean drastic," he said, predicting that "it would remove credit from 80% of Americans."

State of play: Trump said earlier this month on Truth Social that "we will no longer let the American Public be 'ripped off' by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%, and even more."

• He called for "a one year cap on Credit Card Interest Rates of 10%."
• Trump said the cap would be "effective January 20" and claimed lenders would be "in violation of the law" if they did not comply.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Dimon's remarks.

Between the lines: Trump's rate-cap push fits into a broader affordability message as the White House ramps up economic messaging ahead of November's midterms.

The big picture: The average annual percentage rate on credit cards ballooned from 12.9% in 2013 to 22.8% in 2023, according to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau data published before Trump moved to shut down the agency.

• The banking industry has warned that a 10% rate cap would shrink credit access and hurt the consumers and small businesses the proposal is meant to help.

Zoom in: Dimon said banks wouldn't be the only ones to feel the pain from a rate cap.

• "It'll be the restaurants, the retailers, the travel companies" and other places people would no longer be able to use credit cards, he said.

The intrigue: Dimon quipped that politicians should "test it" in two progressive states, Vermont and Massachusetts.

• "And see what happens," he said. Supporters would "learn a real lesson."