The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has released a comprehensive report identifying nine major lenders that maintained policies restricting banking services based on political, religious, or social views. According to reports from Reuters, the investigation covered the period from 2020 to September 2025, focusing on practices that denied, debanked, and discriminated against customers and businesses. The affected banks include JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., U.S. Bancorp, Capital One Financial Corp., PNC Financial Services Group Inc., Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Montreal. The OCC report specifically alleges that these banks engaged in 'debanking' — denying access to financial services for their political or religious beliefs or for their lawful business activities. The investigation examined 100,000 complaints and 50,000 domestic banking documents during the review period.
The OCC's 47-page report revealed that certain banks maintained policies restricting services to digital asset businesses, including issuers, exchanges, and administrators. According to the OCC, many institutions placed restrictions on banking digital asset activities, often attributed to financial crime considerations. The regulator noted that restrictions affected several types of crypto businesses rather than a single activity or service, but emphasized that it was unable to quantify on a comprehensive basis the full extent of debanking or alleged debanking actions through its review of nine major banks. The report did not provide specific examples involving digital asset activities, focusing instead on the kinds of businesses affected and banks' stated concerns without detailing individual account closures.
JPMorgan Chase acknowledged the findings while emphasizing policy improvements, stating that their policies prohibit discrimination based on political or religious views and that the report discusses "a limited number of historical interactions." As reported by Reuters, the bank noted it has "improved the way we do business" and agreed with the administration's broader point about regulatory environments contributing to industry caution. A Wells Fargo representative declined to comment, while spokespeople for other affected banks did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The banks utilized internal 'reputation risk' rules to close accounts for conservative organizations, flagging terms like 'MAGA' and applying designations from the Southern Poverty Law Center to assess customer relationships.
The OCC's investigation revealed that banks maintained policies restricting access to financial services based on political, religious, or social views, as well as industry sectors. According to the report, banks maintained policies restricting access to financial services for businesses involved in oil and gas, coal mining, firearms, or tobacco-related industries. The regulator found that these policies required customers to undergo escalated reviews and approvals, building on an initial finding after President Donald Trump called for action to rein in such activities. The investigation specifically examined supporters of Donald Trump, Christian organizations and representatives of sectors not supported by the Joe Biden administration.
OCC head Jonathan Gould emphasized that "Americans should have access to financial services regardless of their beliefs, affiliations, or political views. Fair access to financial services is not a mantra — it is a mandate." As reported by Reuters, Gould called the findings "irrefutable evidence" of discrimination and expressed skepticism that recent bank reforms will prevent recurrence of these practices, warning they "may not go far enough." The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it would "fully investigate" whether the institutions featured in the OCC's report have complied with federal consumer financial laws and take "appropriate action." The investigation follows Trump's executive order directing regulators to remove reputation-risk standards and identify financial institutions engaging in debanking practices.
