Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, speaks at the American Business Forum at the Kaseya Center in Miami on November 6, 2025.
Chandan Khanna | AFP | fake images
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Wednesday advocated for a test of President Donald Trump's proposed 10% cap on credit card interest rates in two US states: Vermont and Massachusetts.
Dimon, speaking on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, addressed a question about Trump's order to banks to voluntarily cap their interest rates for a year. The president had called for the lower rates to take effect on Tuesday.
Several large credit card lenders contacted by CNBC on Tuesday said they had made no changes to their interest rates, but all declined to be identified as challenging Trump's proposal.
“It would be an economic disaster,” Dimon said Wednesday. “In the worst case scenario, there would be a drastic reduction in credit card business” for 80% of Americans, he said.
In earnings conference calls last week and behind the scenes, banks have rejected Trump's order this month to voluntarily forgo billions of dollars in revenue.
His main argument, that price controls will lead to lenders canceling accounts of many card customers, has resonated with several Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson. Most banking analysts believe Trump would need legislation to enact a national cap on card fees.
'A great idea'
Dimon then said he had a “great idea” to help calm disagreement over the proposed card limit, suggesting that the U.S. government impose price controls on Americans in just two states.
Vermont and Massachusetts are the home states of Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, respectively, who support a bill capping card rates at 10% for five years. Dimon did not mention the lawmakers by name Wednesday.
The US government “should force all banks to do it in two states, Vermont and Massachusetts, and see what happens,” Dimon said, drawing laughter from the WEF audience.
Dimon said that “the left” and people who advocate for price controls “will learn a real lesson, and the people who will cry the most will not be the credit card companies,” he said.
“It will be restaurants, retailers, travel companies, schools, municipalities, because people don't pay for water,” he said. “It would be something more to observe.”
Dimon added that JPMorgan was planning to provide the Trump administration with its analysis of what would happen with a national cap on credit card rates.
“I think it's wrong for the government to get involved extensively in pricing things, but I have to deal with the world I have,” Dimon said.
