The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) says a review of the nine largest banks it supervises found policies that could restrict customers’ access to financial services based on political, religious or social views, as well as some lawful business activities. Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould described the findings as evidence of debanking and discrimination. The report’s conclusions are the agency’s findings; the source material does not provide responses from every bank named in the review.
The banks covered were JPMorgan Chase Bank, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo Bank, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank and BMO Bank. The OCC defines debanking as denying, limiting or closing an individual’s or organization’s access to banking services.
According to the 47-page report, a payment processor owned by one bank closed the account of a merchant selling Trump- and MAGA-branded merchandise in February 2021. The report also described a 2023 instance in which a bank declined to serve a public education organization, citing the partisan leanings of its political arm, which endorsed Democratic candidates.
The OCC further reported that concerns about public reaction led at least one bank to distance itself from customer affiliations that might be viewed as partisan. It said that until 2025, one business line treated companies engaged in “partisan activity” as presumptively presenting a high reputational risk. The agency said the policy appeared to apply to groups on both sides of the political spectrum, but that some organizations were denied services because of their expressed views, while organizations considered bipartisan received services.
The regulator said all nine banks had policies of concern between 2020 and September 2025. It also identified policies that restricted access for some sectors, including oil and gas, coal, firearms and ammunition, detention facilities, tobacco and e-cigarettes, and digital assets. The report criticized broad reputational-risk rules that it said lacked clear, objective, risk-based standards.
The review followed an executive order President Donald Trump signed in August 2025. The OCC said the order directed it to examine whether bank policies or practices had led or contributed to decisions to deny or limit services because of customers’ political or religious beliefs or lawful business activities. The White House said when the order was issued that banking decisions should rely on individualized, objective and risk-based assessments.
The OCC said its findings drew on nearly 100,000 complaints to institutions it regulates and approximately 50,000 documents from the banks, totaling about 420,000 pages. The agency announced the review in September 2025 and issued preliminary findings in December of that year. It said it is considering steps to prevent discrimination based on political or religious beliefs and to address reputational risk in bank decision-making.
Gould said Americans should have access to financial services regardless of their beliefs or affiliations. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, called the report “damning” in comments to Fox News Digital and said the committee would address the issue when Congress returned.
JPMorgan Chase told Fox Business that its policies prohibit discrimination based on political or religious views. The bank characterized the report’s discussion of its history as involving a limited number of interactions among the nearly 90 million customers and small businesses it serves, and said it had learned from the issues and improved its practices. It also said the regulatory environment had contributed to caution across the banking industry.
Wells Fargo declined to comment. BMO referred the outlet to a Bank Policy Institute statement supporting fair access to banking and saying the industry was working to ensure regulations allow service to law-abiding customers. Fox Business said it had sought comments from Bank of America, Citibank, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank and TD Bank; their responses were not provided in the source material.
