But according to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Trump’s own administration has been undermining what the president has characterized as a push to improve affordability, CNBC reported Friday (Jan. 23).
In a letter obtained by the network from Warren, D-Mass., to Russell Vought, acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the senator argued that the regulator has eliminated a rule limiting credit card late fees, sided with lenders in litigation involving deceptive practices and put enforcement actions against the industry on hold.
Trump earlier this month took to social media to demand banks impose a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, and called on Congress to make the cap a reality through legislation.
“Please be informed 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 …,” Trump wrote in the post on his Truth Social platform.
“I spoke with President Trump last week and told him that Congress could pass legislation to cap credit card rates, if he would fight for it,” Warren wrote in her letter to Vought.
“While Congress considers legislation to address the issue, your own actions are directly undermining the President’s stated goals,” she wrote. “Under your leadership, the CPFB has taken steps to make it easier — not harder — for big banks and credit card companies to rip off Americans.”
PYMNTS has contacted the CFPB for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.
As covered here, banks and banking industry groups have thus far mostly pushed back against the idea of a 10% rate cap, saying it would harm consumers.
“If you actually make this a policy, it can reallocate credit,” Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said last week. “That will slow down spending, it will slow down credit availability, and that might not be what you’re trying to achieve.”
And Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser said that while Trump is correct to focus on affordability, banks already offer “low-cost, no-frill” products that give consumers access to credit.
“Let’s make sure that we extend access to credit, we don’t restrict it,” Fraser said.
Nonetheless, last week also saw a report that both Bank of America and Citigroup were considering offering cards with a 10% rate cap after meeting with Trump.
The CNBC report noted that Warren’s letter comes as the Trump White House pushes to close the CFPB. Current and former workers at the agency, CNBC added, have said it is on life support as Vought pushes to institute sweeping layoffs and freeze funding.
