New York, January 12, 2026, 17:49 EST — After-hours
Shares of Bank of America Corp fell Monday, dragged down by President Donald Trump’s effort to limit credit card interest rates. BAC dipped about 1.2% to $55.19 in after-hours trading, after earlier touching a low of $54.15. Trading volume hit roughly 45.8 million shares for the day.
Credit cards generate strong profits for big lenders, but a cap could wipe out a revenue stream investors count on. The debate is intensifying ahead of a heavy slate of bank earnings on Wall Street.
Financials took a hit while the broader market eked out small gains. The S&P 500 ETF SPY rose about 0.2%, yet the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund XLF fell 0.8%. The bank-heavy KBE declined roughly 1.3%.
On Friday, Trump pitched a one-year freeze on credit card interest rates, capping them at 10% starting Jan. 20. He didn’t, however, clarify how this would be enforced, Reuters reported. UBS Global analysts flagged that “It would take an Act of Congress for such rate caps.” Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan’s Vivek Juneja cautioned it could push consumers toward “more expensive debt” outside traditional banks. Shares of Bank of America, JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo dropped in early trading. Card issuers and payment processors including Synchrony, Capital One, Visa, and Mastercard also saw their stocks dip, according to the report. Reuters
Rate uncertainty is creeping back in. After December’s jobs report, J.P. Morgan and several other banks pushed their forecasts for Federal Reserve rate cuts out to mid-2026. But BofA Global Research held firm, sticking with its call for cuts around June-July, Reuters reported.
Bank of America will report its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings before the market opens on Wednesday, Jan. 14. The announcement is set for around 6:45 a.m. ET, with an investor call to follow at 8:30 a.m., the bank said.
Investors are zeroing in on the bank’s consumer credit outlook, especially card charge-offs — the losses logged when borrowers default. They’ll also be watching for clues on whether credit demand holds firm. Expense guidance and any subtle signals about buyback plans might prove just as important.
Net interest income—the gap between earnings on loans and expenses on deposits—still drives most of the group’s profits. But a sudden rise in deposit costs can quickly erase any gains from better trading or investment banking fees.
Options point to a choppier reaction to the earnings than usual. TipRanks shows the implied move in BAC sits near 3.8% up or down, a number pulled directly from option prices.
On Monday, BofA Finance LLC, backed by a guarantee from Bank of America, filed a prospectus for an offering of trigger callable yield notes linked to the S&P 500 and the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index, set to mature in January 2028.
There’s a chance things could swing the other way. If the rate-cap debate gains political traction, lenders may tighten credit limits and tweak pricing. That would likely slow growth, even as it shields their margins.
Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. ET brings the U.S. CPI data for December, a key read before the bank earnings kick off. This report might rattle rate expectations and shake up bank valuations. Following that, attention turns to Bank of America’s Jan. 14 earnings and its updates on cards, credit, and expenses.
