DAVOS, Switzerland--U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this week it would be reasonable to examine the practices of credit card companies, signaling openness to a broader review as Washington debates potential consumer protections, according to Reuters.
Speaking to CNBC from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Bessent said policymakers could scrutinize a range of industry behaviors.
“I think that there are a lot of things that we can look at with the credit cards in terms of their practices, in terms of their behaviors, and we'll see where that goes,” he said, Reuters reported.
The comments follow President Donald Trump’s call last week for a one-year cap on credit card interest rates. Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a longtime advocate for consumer financial protections, said the Republican president had reached out to discuss the proposal, according to Reuters.
Bessent said the Administration aligns with Warren on ensuring vulnerable consumers are not disproportionately burdened by costs.
“I would say that in terms of direction, that the president [and] the administration, agree with many of Senator Warren's policies that the poorest members of society shouldn't pay the most,” he said, Reuters reported.
However, Bessent drew a distinction on regulatory approach.
“But she wants to control credit. She wants to put in more regulation” that he said contributed to the failure of small and community banks, according to Reuters.
That approach has produced unintended consequences, Bessent added, saying the outcome has been the opposite of what was intended.