Kevin Hassett focuses on potential “trump card” amid credit card battle

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Friday that large U.S. banks may voluntarily offer credit cards to underserved Americans as a way to counter President Donald Trump’s affordability drive.

A week ago, President Trump called on banks to cap credit card interest rates at 10%, a proposal that was flatly rejected by industry executives and their lobbyists this week.

Hassett, now director of the National Economic Council, has other plans. This is more narrowly focused on consumers who do not have credit access but have the income to qualify for a line of credit.

“They may volunteer people who are in a sweet spot where they don’t have a lot of financial leverage because they can’t get credit, but they have enough income and stability in their lives that they deserve credit,” Hassett told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo.

“Our hope is that we won’t necessarily need legislation, because people will be presented with a really great new ‘trump card’ that the banks will offer voluntarily,” he said.

These comments could signal that the government is backing away from broader reforms to the card industry, which would be difficult to enact and could hurt consumer spending and the economy.

Bankers discussing fourth-quarter results this week said banks would simply close many customers’ accounts instead of offering cards at 10% interest, as President Trump has insisted should happen by Jan. 20.

Hassett’s statement was in response to a question about whether bankers would be forced to comply with President Trump’s interest rate caps, which would likely require new legislation.

Hassett said the administration is consulting with “a number of major bank CEOs who believe the president is up to something.”

Bank lobbyists representing major credit card issuers and major financial institutions told CNBC that they have not yet discussed the “Trump Card” initiative with the administration.