Big banks report soaring profits amid tensions with Trump over credit
card interest rates
[January 15, 2026] By
KEN SWEET
NEW YORK (AP) — Setting aside their current fight with the White House,
things are looking good on Wall Street.
The latest trio of big banks reported their results Wednesday — Bank of
America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo — and while each of them do different
flavors of banking the theme is the same: profits are up, dealmaking is
healthy, and the consumer is doing just fine.
“While any number of risks continue, we are bullish on the U.S. economy
in 2026,” said Brian Moynihan, CEO and chairman of Bank of America, in a
statement.
Moynihan added that businesses and consumers are “proving resilient.”
Mark Mason, Citigroup's chief financial officer, used the same word to
describe how consumers and businesses were doing.
"The U.S. economy is doing just fine. There’s downside risks out there,
geopolitical risks in particular. But when I step back and look at it
holistically, we have an economy that has managed uncertainty and risks
in a resilient type fashion," Mason told reporters on Wednesday.
Up until last weekend, the big banks had found an ally in the White
House in President Donald Trump. Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill
into law in July, which pushed another significant round of tax cuts.
Trump’s bank regulators have also been pushing a deregulatory agenda
that both banks and large corporations have embraced. Many companies
have embraced dealmaking last year, which led to a steady stream of
investment banking revenues and fees to the big banks.
But now the banks and Trump are butting heads. Trump said Friday that he
wants to cap interest rates on credit cards at 10%, and has been
supportive of his Justice Department's investigation into Jerome Powell,
the chairman of the Federal Reserve, which bankers see as a threat to
the independence of the nation's central bank. Trump does not appear to
be backing down on his attacks as well, doubling down in comments to
reporters Tuesday night.
For these big banks, many of which have large and profitable credit card
businesses, these banks argue that a credit card interest rate cap
simply cannot happen.
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A Bank of America ATM is seen, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, in
Winchester, Mass. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
 “Affordability is a big issue and we
look forward to collaborating with the administration on ways we can
address this,” Mason with Citi said. “But an interest rate cap is
not something we could or would support. It would restrict credit to
those who need it the most and have a delirious impact on the
economy.”
Bank executives told reporters they weren’t seeing much evidence of
a “K-Shaped” economy, where the rich get richer and the bottom half
do less well. Further, the consumer continues to spend and other
metrics about consumer financial health like delinquencies and
charge-offs remain stable.
Bank of America posted a profit of $7.6 billion, or 98 cents per
share, up from $6.8 billion, or 83 cents per share, in the same
period a year earlier. Revenue at the bank was $28.4 billion.
Wells Fargo earned a profit of $5.36 billion, or $1.62 per share,
compared to a profit of $5.08 billion, or $1.43 a share, in the same
period a year earlier on revenues of $21.3 billion.
At Bank of America, the bank reported a 6% increase in credit and
debit card spending and credit card balances rose a manageable 3%
year-over-year to $103 billion. Retail deposits also grew to $945.4
billion.
Wells Fargo’s credit metrics also told a similar story. The bank saw
consumer loan growth and more activity on its credit cards, but
delinquencies and charge-offs were relatively stable.
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