Chris Willis, co-leader of the Consumer Financial Services Regulatory Practice Group at Troutman Pepper, was quoted in the September 30, 2024 Payments Dive article, “Trump Interest Rate Cap Draws Criticism.”

“We might as well be talking about Russia invading Alaska, because that’s how likely this is,” said Chris Willis, co-leader of the consumer financial services regulatory practice group for law firm Troutman Pepper.

If there were to be a cap that becomes law, it would immediately change the way credit card networks assess risk, Willis said.

“Those interest rates are there to compensate for the risk of non-payment,” he said. “The credit card is one of the easiest forms of credit to use. You can go to almost any merchant, [and] there’s no collateral, and the consequences of non-payment are a lot less [than other forms of credit], so credit card issuers are not used to enjoying a lot of priority in terms of repayment if someone is having difficulty paying bills.”

Consumers with questionable credit histories have to pay higher rates, Willis noted.

If those rates were to be capped at 10%, banks would be less likely to take on consumers with lower credit ratings and “anyone with risk of non-payment is not going to get a card,” he said. Those customers are more likely to come from low-income households, Willis said.

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