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The White House has ordered regulators to review and remediate so-called debanking practices, intensifying a dispute between President Donald Trump and large US lenders that he claims discriminate against conservatives.
In an executive order issued on Thursday, the White House requested federal banking regulators formally review “any past or current, formal or informal, policies or practices” that may have led to “politicised or unlawful debanking” and take remedial action where necessary, including levying fines and other disciplinary measures.
The move follows months of attacks on banks by Trump, who has accused them of denying services to certain clients, including conservatives and those in the cryptocurrency industry, for political reasons.
“Financial institutions have engaged in unacceptable practices to restrict law-abiding individuals’ and businesses’ access to financial services on the basis of political or religious beliefs or lawful business activities,” the order said.
Earlier this week, he hit out at Bank of America chief executive Brian Moynihan, who he said had personally refused to open a bank account for him after his account was closed by JPMorgan following his departure from the White House in 2021.
In his executive order, Trump also claimed some financial institutions had engaged in “government-directed surveillance programmes” targeting conservatives and their allies in the wake of the attacks on the US Capital on January 6 2021.
This had taken place after the previous Democratic administration suggested financial institutions flag certain payments that contained the terms “Trump” or “Maga”, he said.
The president’s claims echo complaints from prominent conservatives and tech investors who have in recent years accused US banks of discriminating against them for their political views, as well as against industries that have attracted regulatory scrutiny, such as crypto and oil.
Lenders largely reject these claims and instead point to the stringent compliance rules they must take into account when doing business with new clients, which are particularly burdensome for “politically exposed people”.
In the early months of the Trump administration, regulators removed reputational risk as an area of bank supervision, a focus that some Republican lawmakers alleged was being used as a pretext for denying banking access to conservatives. Thursday’s executive order also formally requested that regulators drop this principle.
Lenders have publicly welcomed Trump’s efforts on this. Moynihan on Tuesday said the president was “after the right thing” and supported his plans to introduce new rules.
Trump’s crusade has sparked changes in the sector. Citigroup in June scrapped restrictions on doing business with some firearm dealers that it had put in place after the 2018 Parkland shooting in Florida.
The Bank Policy Institute, an industry lobby group, thanked the government “for its efforts to protect access to banking and rein in runaway regulations”.
“Today’s executive order helps ensure all consumers and businesses are treated fairly, a goal the nation’s banks share with the administration,” the institute said. “It’s in banks’ best interest to take deposits, lend to and support as many customers as possible.”
Additional reporting by Joshua Franklin
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