The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released a report stating that the nine largest national banks under its supervision allowed political considerations, public pressure, and social concerns to influence decisions about who received banking services. The OCC's review, which examined nearly 100,000 complaints and about 420,000 pages of documents, found that all nine banks used 'reputation risk' policies lacking 'clear,' 'objective' standards, potentially disadvantaging customers based on political or religious views or lawful business activities [1].
The banks reviewed included JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank, and BMO Bank. These institutions collectively held a majority of assets at OCC-supervised commercial banks when the probe began last year under a Trump executive order [1]. The OCC highlighted a case involving JPMorgan subsidiary WePay, which closed accounts for merchants selling Trump and conservative merchandise. An internal screening list included terms such as 'MAGA,' 'Make America Great,' and 'America First,' despite the absence of formal written standards for determining when flagged material constituted prohibited hate or violence [1].
JPMorgan responded by stating its policies prohibit discrimination based on political or religious views and acknowledged that WePay's process 'did not meet our expectations.' The bank reported that it had addressed the issue and subsequently shut down the business [1].
While the OCC stopped short of announcing fines or sanctions, it indicated that it is considering additional rules to prevent political or religious discrimination in banking services. The findings may add regulatory weight to grievances raised by President Donald Trump, who has accused major banks of discriminating against conservatives and claimed he was personally 'debanked' after the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection—allegations the banks have denied [1].
The report was released a day after the OCC and other Treasury regulators imposed more than $1.2 billion in penalties on Bank of America for separate anti-money-laundering failures. The OCC is also examining whether banks' anti-money-laundering compliance efforts have contributed to debanking [1].
CONCLUSION
The OCC's findings raise concerns about the objectivity of 'reputation risk' policies at major U.S. banks and their potential to enable political or religious discrimination. While no immediate sanctions were announced, the OCC is considering further regulatory action, signaling possible changes ahead for bank compliance and customer service standards.