Sanders takes aim at banks’ 25% card rates

The political side-eye Wall Street didn’t need

Bernie Sanders went on the attack Wednesday, accusing President Trump of blowing smoke on his promised 10% cap for credit card interest rates. His core message: while households are juggling pricey groceries and rising debt, big banks are still raking in billions from consumers paying eye-watering APRs.

And yes, he picked a fight with the whole crew — JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs all got name-checked in the broader bank-profit conversation. That matters because this isn’t just a one-bank PR headache. It’s the kind of policy chatter that can creep into the margins of an entire lending model.

Why investors should care

Here’s the rub: credit card lending is one of those deliciously boring bank businesses that can quietly throw off a lot of profit when rates are high. So if Washington ever turns Sanders’ 10% cap idea into actual law, that would be a direct hit to one of the sector’s juiciest revenue streams.

A few key takeaways:

• Banks are still charging roughly 25% to 30% on card balances in this debate.
• The average interest rate on accounts that actually carry a balance was 22.15% in May, so the politics are happening against a pretty hot-rate backdrop.
• Trump’s proposed cap hasn’t been implemented, which means this is still more policy theater than policy action — but theater can move markets when the stakes are this big.

Big picture

For now, this is less about a sudden earnings shock and more about a reminder that bank profits can get dragged into the policy spotlight fast. If consumer credit politics heats up, lenders may have to defend one of their most profitable habits: charging lots of interest to people who really don’t want to be paying it.