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US banking political debanking investigation

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2026-10-18 13:47 UTC → 2026-10-23 13:01 UTC · added ~~removed~~

An investigation by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has concluded that nine major United States banks engaged in ‘debanking’ by denying or limiting financial services based on customers' political, religious, or social views, as well as lawful business activities. The report, titled ‘Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans’, followed an August 2025 executive order and reviewed approximately 100,000 consumer complaints and 420,000 pages of internal records covering the period between 2020 and 2025. The OCC identified JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank, and BMO Bank as institutions using broad ‘reputation risk’ policies that lacked objective or risk-based criteria. Specific industries facing systemic barriers include digital assets, firearms, oil and gas, coal mining, tobacco, and detention facility operations. The investigation documented instances where accounts were closed or credit was refused due to ideological alignment, such as merchants selling ‘Make America Great Again’ ~~merchandise.~~ merchandise, pro-life organizations, and Christian groups. The report also noted that banks utilized ‘hate group’ designations from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) when assessing customer risk. Findings suggest that during the Biden administration, various pressures—including climate-finance commitments and executive orders regarding climate-related financial risk—influenced banking sector decision-making. One specific instance involved WePay, a payment-processing operation owned by JPMorgan Chase, which closed a religious nonprofit’s account after employees internally characterized the group as having ‘strong anti-LGBTQ rhetoric’. Comptroller Jonathan Gould stated the findings provide ‘irrefutable evidence’ of discrimination against lawful businesses and customers.

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