New York, January 12, 2026, 14:50 EST — Regular session
Shares of SoFi Technologies (SOFI.O) dropped 2.4% to $26.74 in afternoon trading Monday, wiping out earlier gains. The slide came after CEO Anthony Noto highlighted potential growth in personal loans tied to President Donald Trump’s plan to cap credit-card rates. The stock had climbed as high as $28.05 before dipping to a low of $26.22.
The rate-cap debate is crucial since SoFi’s lending hinges on customers refinancing costly debt. Should banks tighten credit card lending, personal loans and other non-bank options might step in—if borrowers can still meet the criteria.
Wall Street remains skeptical it’s a done deal. Analysts say a national cap would almost certainly require Congressional approval, opening the door to legal battles and political back-and-forth. “A card rate cap can only be done by Congress, not executive order,” TD Cowen analysts noted. (Reuters)
Noto posted on X that credit card issuers “won’t be able to sustain profitability” if a 10% cap is enforced, predicting it would create “a large void” that SoFi’s personal loans could step into. He also emphasized that stricter underwriting — the process of vetting borrowers — would grow increasingly crucial. (Business Insider)
Mizuho Securities analyst Dan Dolev said a cap might prove a “major positive” for buy-now, pay-later and personal-loan providers if banks clamp down on card standards, Barron’s reported. Buy-now, pay-later lets shoppers break purchases into installments, often with merchants covering a big chunk of the cost. (Barron’s)
Investors largely dumped shares across the sector on Monday. Capital One slid roughly 7.5%, and Synchrony dropped 8.9%. Visa and Mastercard lost around 2% each. Alternative lenders Affirm and Upstart also took hits, falling near 6% apiece.
Trump is pushing for a 10% cap on credit-card interest rates for one year, beginning January 20. Currently, the average rate runs much higher. U.S. credit card debt hit $1.23 trillion at Q3’s close, per a Federal Reserve report cited by Reuters. (Reuters)
Lower headline rates, however, aren’t without drawbacks. Banking groups warned that a 10% cap could restrict credit access and drive consumers to “less regulated, more costly alternatives” if card issuers close accounts for higher-risk borrowers. (Consumerbankers)
SoFi investors face their next big milestone on January 30, when the company will report its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results ahead of the open, followed by a conference call at 8 a.m. ET. Market watchers will be zeroed in on management’s outlook for loan growth and credit quality, especially with ongoing policy debates putting pressure on consumer lending. (SoFi Investors)
This week, big banks jump-start earnings season, with JPMorgan reporting Tuesday. Investors will watch closely for any changes in how executives discuss card balances, delinquencies, and underwriting standards. Such signals could ripple quickly through fintech stocks like SoFi. (Reuters)
