Nick Wolney

Regulations have loosened on credit card interest rates, and there are a few reasons why. So some history here. There was a Supreme Court opinion that came out in 1978, Marquette National Bank versus First of Omaha Corp. And this opinion allowed national banks to be governed by the usury laws of the state that they are headquartered.

And so famously in the late 70s, Citibank was just absolutely drowning. Inflation was extremely high circa 1980. It was actually so high that banks like Citibank were losing money on every single dollar that was on a credit card because they were capped on how much interest they could charge their consumers.

And so famously in the late 70s, Citibank was just absolutely drowning. Inflation was extremely high circa 1980. It was actually so high that banks like Citibank were losing money on every single dollar that was on a credit card because they were capped on how much interest they could charge their consumers.

And so famously in the late 70s, Citibank was just absolutely drowning. Inflation was extremely high circa 1980. It was actually so high that banks like Citibank were losing money on every single dollar that was on a credit card because they were capped on how much interest they could charge their consumers.

So Citibank famously courted the governor of South Dakota and said, hey, we'd love to move our headquarters to South Dakota. Will your legislature invite us to come to South Dakota? And they agreed. So they abolished the usury laws in South Dakota. Citibank moved there. Several other banks moved there. Delaware followed. Nevada followed.

So Citibank famously courted the governor of South Dakota and said, hey, we'd love to move our headquarters to South Dakota. Will your legislature invite us to come to South Dakota? And they agreed. So they abolished the usury laws in South Dakota. Citibank moved there. Several other banks moved there. Delaware followed. Nevada followed.

So Citibank famously courted the governor of South Dakota and said, hey, we'd love to move our headquarters to South Dakota. Will your legislature invite us to come to South Dakota? And they agreed. So they abolished the usury laws in South Dakota. Citibank moved there. Several other banks moved there. Delaware followed. Nevada followed.

And so as a result, no matter what state you live in, if you have a credit card from that bank and that bank is headquartered in Delaware or South Dakota, that bank can charge whatever it wants to on the credit card. And as a result, you have this very deregulated landscape that allows national banks to jack up those credit card rates.

And so as a result, no matter what state you live in, if you have a credit card from that bank and that bank is headquartered in Delaware or South Dakota, that bank can charge whatever it wants to on the credit card. And as a result, you have this very deregulated landscape that allows national banks to jack up those credit card rates.

And so as a result, no matter what state you live in, if you have a credit card from that bank and that bank is headquartered in Delaware or South Dakota, that bank can charge whatever it wants to on the credit card. And as a result, you have this very deregulated landscape that allows national banks to jack up those credit card rates.

Of course. What else is it for, right? All the way back in the 1950s, those very first credit cards that came out, there was a card called Diner's Club, which was one of the first forms of a credit card.

Of course. What else is it for, right? All the way back in the 1950s, those very first credit cards that came out, there was a card called Diner's Club, which was one of the first forms of a credit card.

Of course. What else is it for, right? All the way back in the 1950s, those very first credit cards that came out, there was a card called Diner's Club, which was one of the first forms of a credit card.

And it was very much branded as this social club card, right? You could go out, you'd be in the Diners Club and things like that. And it was branded very much as an identity. That was also akin to just a lot of the marketing and branding in general in the 1950s.

And it was very much branded as this social club card, right? You could go out, you'd be in the Diners Club and things like that. And it was branded very much as an identity. That was also akin to just a lot of the marketing and branding in general in the 1950s.

And it was very much branded as this social club card, right? You could go out, you'd be in the Diners Club and things like that. And it was branded very much as an identity. That was also akin to just a lot of the marketing and branding in general in the 1950s.

You know you made it when your cards go from sounding like this to sounding like this. Or you see this as a trend on TikTok now. Gen Zers showing off their Amexes as a flex.

You know you made it when your cards go from sounding like this to sounding like this. Or you see this as a trend on TikTok now. Gen Zers showing off their Amexes as a flex.

You know you made it when your cards go from sounding like this to sounding like this. Or you see this as a trend on TikTok now. Gen Zers showing off their Amexes as a flex.

Right? That's what I thought. Like, don't flash your platinum Amex to me. And so that's kind of interesting for them as well. It's like the social clout of having the platinum Amex is worth the $695 annual fee. to that. But if you look at the total credit card debt in America, it's just gone up and up and up and up and up. We had two corrections.