New York, January 23, 2026, 13:12 EST — Regular session
Bank of America Corp shares slipped about 1.8% to $51.49 in early Friday afternoon trading, weighed down by a widespread decline in U.S. bank stocks. The Invesco KBW Bank ETF fell roughly 2.5%, with JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo all sliding nearly 2%.
Traders are offloading positions as attention turns to the Federal Reserve’s January 27-28 meeting. Economists polled by Reuters expect the Fed to hold the funds rate steady at 3.50%-3.75%. Jeremy Schwartz, senior U.S. economist at Nomura, told Reuters, “The economic outlook on the surface suggests the Fed should remain on hold.” 1
Policy risk is creeping into the banking sector. Reuters reported Thursday that Bank of America is weighing new credit cards featuring a 10% interest rate, aiming to align with President Donald Trump’s call for a national rate cap. Citigroup is said to be mulling over similar offerings. After the news broke, BofA shares ticked up around 1.1% in afternoon trading. 2
At Davos, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan sounded cautious. “So we’re all trying to noodle on that,” he said during an Axios Live session, talking about how to introduce a lower-rate product without adjusting rates on existing accounts, Axios reported. JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon called a 10% cap an “economic disaster,” Axios added. 3
Credit cards are considered unsecured loans, and the annual percentage rate, or APR, is a key revenue source because it determines the cost borrowers face on revolving balances. Setting a firm cap could tighten underwriting standards, cut back on rewards, and shrink the group of consumers who qualify for new deals.
Banks are once again grappling with a familiar question: how their margins will fare if rate cuts hit later this year. Net interest income—the gap between what lenders earn on loans and what they pay depositors—typically narrows when rates fall more quickly than banks lower deposit rates.
Bank of America is among four Wall Street banks SpaceX is considering for senior roles in a potential IPO, a source told Reuters on Thursday. Though the deal looks set to be lucrative, the exact positions and timing are still up in the air as pre-IPO discussions continue. 4
The risk for bank stocks is straightforward. If the credit-card cap discussions become real legislation with strict enforcement, card issuers could pull back on credit. That would slow loan growth and hit fee-dependent products hard, especially as consumer delinquencies start to rise.
Friday saw a drop as Wall Street stayed cautious, with Intel tumbling on a bleak outlook. Investors clung to mega-cap tech shares, awaiting next week’s earnings, Reuters said. 5
Bank of America is zeroing in on the Fed’s January 28 decision and possible Congressional moves on credit-card pricing rules. These two elements are shaping up as major catalysts for the next shift in rate-sensitive bank stocks.
