New York, Jan 12, 2026, 18:14 ET — After-hours.
- Goldman shares up about 1.1% in late trading; Monday range $927.40 to $950.55
- Trump’s proposed one-year 10% credit-card rate cap has put lenders on the defensive ahead of results
- Focus shifts to Tuesday’s U.S. CPI report and Goldman’s earnings later this week
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) shares were up about 1.1% at $949.55 in after-hours trading on Monday, after swinging between $927.40 and $950.55 during the session.
The stock move lands as lenders brace for earnings updates under a fresh Washington headline: President Donald Trump’s call for a one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10%, starting Jan. 20. Investors are set to press bank executives on how any pricing limit could hit card profits and credit availability. (Reuters)
Goldman and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) report on Jan. 15, following results due Tuesday from JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) and others, a Reuters analysis said. That sets up a week when trading desks and deal fees matter again — and when guidance can swing quickly on inflation and rate expectations. (Reuters)
Wall Street analysts have been quick to flag the legal hurdle around Trump’s cap. “We ascribe a low probability of a cap getting passed legislatively,” TD Cowen analysts wrote, arguing Congress — not an executive order — would likely be needed. (Reuters)
Industry groups are pushing back hard, warning a cap would shut out riskier borrowers. The Electronic Payments Coalition said most accounts tied to credit scores below 740 would be closed or sharply restricted, while its executive chairman Richard Hunt called it “a one-size-fits-all government price cap.” In government terms, the annual percentage rate, or APR, averaged 25.2% on general-purpose cards in 2024, CFPB data showed. (Reuters)
Goldman’s direct consumer exposure is also in flux. The bank said last week it reached an agreement to transition the Apple Card program and related accounts to JPMorgan’s Chase, and Chief Executive David Solomon said the deal “substantially completes” the narrowing of its consumer focus. Goldman said the transaction is expected to lift fourth-quarter 2025 earnings by $0.46 a share, while the transition is expected to take about 24 months. (Goldman Sachs)
Rates — and who sets them — remain the other big driver for bank stocks. Goldman chief economist Jan Hatzius said the threat of a criminal indictment against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell would add to worries about central bank independence, but he had “no doubt” Powell would decide “based on the economic data.” Goldman now expects two 25-basis-point cuts (a basis point is 0.01 percentage point) in June and September 2026, he said. (Reuters)
In a separate note dated Sunday, Goldman said the Fed could move from “risk management mode” to “normalization mode” if the labor market stabilizes, and it lowered its 12‑month recession probability to 20% from 30%. (Reuters)
Some investors say the Fed fight is no longer background noise. “Gold has strengthened, equities have wobbled, and the yield curve has steepened a little,” said Damien Boey, a portfolio manager at Wilson Asset Management, describing the market’s usual playbook when central bank independence comes under pressure. (Reuters)
But the downside case is still there: a rate cap that gains traction could force lenders to tighten credit lines, reprice rewards and fees, or push borrowing into costlier corners of the market. Separately, Fitch said the Fed’s independence is a key support for its AA+ U.S. sovereign rating — a reminder that this spat can leak into funding costs and risk premiums if it worsens. (Reuters)
What traders are watching next is tight and dated: the U.S. consumer price index for December is due Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. ET, and Goldman’s results follow Thursday. Goldman has said it plans to release numbers at about 7:30 a.m. ET and hold a 9:30 a.m. ET conference call. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
