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Your Money · Report · File No. 261110-233

Credit card debt hits record $1.29 trillion as Warren renews push for 10% rate cap

Americans owed a record $1.29 trillion on credit cards in the third quarter, the New York Fed said Tuesday. Democrats take control of Congress in January, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren says a 10% interest cap is ready to go.

By the Kitchen-Table Desk · · 2 min read

Every quote in this story (2) was matched word for word against its source. How we work

My clippings
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren. Photo: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0

Credit card balances rose by $22 billion from July through September to a record $1.29 trillion, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Tuesday. That is 4.2% higher than a year earlier 12.

Total household debt, which includes mortgages, auto loans and student loans, grew by $334 billion to a record $19.1 trillion 12.

What the New York Fed said

On a press call, New York Fed researchers said "Overall debt has been growing" and "This does reflect financial hardship out there" 1. They also pointed to "inflation outpacing wage growth for low-income brackets" 1.

Researchers said a growing share of new cards went to lower-income and lower-credit-score borrowers. They added that "those accounts are now showing higher levels of distress" 12. Card issuers loosened lending standards during the Covid pandemic, and delinquency rates rose in the years after, the researchers said 2.

From Channel GOPWarren asks Greer for a tariff refund planElizabeth Warren · 180 plays · captioned, with the source named

Borrowing is also costly. The average rate on a new credit card offer is about 24%, according to LendingTree data cited by CNBC 12. Newsweek, citing Federal Reserve data, put the average rate on bank card accounts that were charged interest at 22.36% in the third quarter 3.

TransUnion, a credit reporting company, said the average balance per consumer was $6,678, up 2.4% from a year ago. The number of cardholders rose 2% to 178 million 1. Charlie Wise, a TransUnion research executive, said "Credit cards continue to be one of the most expensive ways to borrow" 1.

The push for a 10% cap

In January, President Trump called for a one-year 10% cap on card interest rates. He said Americans were "ripped off" by companies charging 20% to 30% or more. He wanted the cap in place by Jan. 20, but it was never put into effect 3.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, said on CBS's Face the Nation that she is ready to work with Trump. "I got the bill. I'm ready to go," she said. Newsweek reports she is expected to chair the Senate Banking Committee 3.

Elizabeth Warren
I got the bill. I'm ready to go.
Elizabeth Warren, U.S. senator, D-Mass.3

Republican leaders have been cool to the idea. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said it was 3:

John Thune
not something I'm out there advocating for
John Thune, Senate majority leader, R-S.D.3

Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said he was strongly opposed to a 10% cap. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, joined Sen. Bernie Sanders in a bill for a five-year 10% ceiling, but it has not advanced. The American Bankers Association says it remains strongly opposed to a government-imposed cap on credit card interest rates 3.

What happens next

Democrats won both chambers in the midterms and take power in January. Newsweek says Republican leaders who were reluctant to move Trump's proposal will no longer control the agenda 3.

A cap is still not assured. Trump would have to sign any bill, and Republican and financial-industry opposition remains significant 3.

That matters because the numbers show households carrying more card debt at rates above 20%. Whether Washington acts is now a test for both parties.

The Record

  1. Trump calls for a one-year 10% cap on credit card interest rates; it was never put into effect 3.
  2. Democrats win control of Congress in the midterm elections 3.
  3. New York Fed reports card balances hit a record $1.29 trillion in the third quarter 12.
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Sources

  1. CNBC, “Credit card debt climbs to a record $1.29 trillion, New York Fed research finds” (2026-11-10). cnbc.com/2026/11/10/credit-card-debt-record.html
  2. Investing.com, “US credit card debt hits record $1.29 trillion in third quarter” (2026-11-10). uk.investing.com/news/economy-news/us-credit-card-debt-hits-
  3. Newsweek, “Elizabeth Warren, Trump and the 10 percent credit card rate cap” (2026-11-10). newsweek.com/elizabeth-warren-trump-10-percent-credit-card-r

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