The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the federal supervisor of US national banks, has concluded that every one of the nine largest national banks under its oversight operated policies between 2020 and September 2025 that could restrict customers’ access to financial services on the basis of political or religious views or lawful commercial activity.
The supervisory review covered JPMorgan Chase Bank, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo Bank, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank and BMO Bank. It was carried out under the presidential Executive Order “Guaranteeing Fair Access to Banking for All Americans” and examined whether lender policies or practices pushed staff to refuse or curtail services for such reasons.
According to the regulator, loosely defined reputation risk policies, which had no clear standards or objective risk-based criteria, put certain Americans at a disadvantage because of their beliefs or their legal business pursuits. The OCC also identified both published and internal policies limiting services to whole industries.
These included oil and gas exploration, coal mining and coal-fired power plants, firearms and ammunition production or distribution, the building or running of detention facilities, the manufacture, distribution or online sale of tobacco and e-cigarettes, and digital asset businesses.
To compile its findings, the OCC examined close to 100,000 complaints lodged with institutions it regulates. The nine banks also handed over roughly 50,000 documents, amounting to around 420,000 pages, covering their policies, procedures, practices and decisions on individual customers.
The review of the nine banks, ranked by asset size, was first announced in September 2025, with preliminary findings published in December 2025.
The regulator has already removed reputation risk from its bank examinations, clarified how it weighs improper debanking when reviewing licensing applications and during some examinations, and upgraded how it receives and assesses complaints.
It is now weighing further measures to stop banks discriminating against existing or prospective customers over political or religious beliefs, and to tackle the role reputation risk plays in lending decisions.
OCC comptroller of the currency Jonathan V. Gould said, “Today’s report provides irrefutable evidence that the nation’s largest banks have denied, debanked and discriminated against customers and lawful businesses. 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. The Trump Administration is committed to ending the weaponization of finance against hardworking Americans, once and for all.”
He added, “Notwithstanding certain efforts by the largest banks to rein in these practices, I am not confident that they will be enough. Accordingly, the OCC will be assessing further changes to the regulatory and supervisory framework applicable to the largest banks to reduce the likelihood of these harmful practices recurring in the future.”
Copyright © 2026 RegTech Analyst
Copyright © 2026 RegTech Analyst
