The order would instruct banking regulators to investigate whether any banks have violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, antitrust laws, or other statutes.
President Donald Trump and the White House are reportedly preparing an executive order that aims to combat banks dropping customers over their beliefs. This comes as Trump said Tuesday that JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America had previously refused to do business with him.
Speaking during an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Trump said JPMorgan Chase gave him 20 days to move “hundreds of millions of dollars in cash” to a different bank. When he then approached Bank of America to “deposit a billion dollars-plus,” Trump said the bank declined. ″[Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan] said, ‘We can’t do it,’” Trump claimed. “So I went to another one, another one, another one. I ended up going to small banks all over the place. I mean, I was putting $10 million here, $10 million there.”
Trump did not clarify whether the accounts were personal or business-related. However, the president has expressed his belief that under the Biden administration, regulators pressured banks to decline services to him and his supporters. The latest remarks come as conservatives continue to raise concerns about “debanking” by major financial institutions. In March, Trump’s company filed a lawsuit against Capital One, alleging the bank closed over 300 accounts after January 6, 2021. Capital One denied the claims.
A Wall Street Journal report published Monday revealed that Trump is preparing to issue an executive order targeting financial institutions that terminate customer accounts for political reasons. The proposed order would instruct banking regulators to investigate whether any banks have violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, antitrust laws, or consumer financial protection statutes.
A trade group representing major banks said that “regulatory overreach” is at the root of the problem.
“Banking agencies have already taken steps to address issues like reputational risk, and we’re hopeful that any forthcoming executive order will reinforce this progress by directing regulators to confront the flawed regulatory framework that gave rise to these concerns,” the Bank Policy Institute said in a statement to CNBC.
JPMorgan responded to allegations of debanking conservatives, claiming that the company does not end services due to political reasons.
“We don’t close accounts for political reasons, and we agree with President Trump that regulatory change is desperately needed,” a JPMorgan spokesperson said on Tuesday. “We commend the White House for addressing this issue and look forward to working with them to get this right.”
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