This post was originally published on OCC.gov
WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today released a report of its findings from its supervisory review of debanking activities at the nine largest national banks it supervises: JPMorgan Chase Bank, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo Bank, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank, and BMO Bank.
The OCC conducted its supervisory review in accordance with the President’s Executive Order, “Guaranteeing Fair Access to Banking for All Americans,” to determine whether these banks’ policies or practices may have required, encouraged, or otherwise influenced banks to deny or limit access to financial services to Americans because of their political or religious beliefs or lawful business activities. The OCC’s findings show that, between 2020 and September 2025, all nine banks had such policies.
“Today’s report provides irrefutable evidence that the nation’s largest banks have denied, debanked and discriminated against customers and lawful businesses,” said Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould. “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.”
In the report, the OCC found that broad reputation risk policies—which lacked clear standards and objective, risk-based criteria—disadvantaged certain Americans based on their political, religious, or social views or based on their lawful business activities. The OCC also found that banks maintained public and nonpublic policies restricting certain industry sectors’ access to financial services, including those in oil and gas exploration, coal mining or coal-powered plants, firearms or ammunition manufacturing or distribution, construction or operation of detention facilities, the manufacturing, distribution or online retail of tobacco or e-cigarettes, and digital asset activities.
In preparing the report, the OCC reviewed nearly 100,000 complaints to OCC-regulated institutions and received approximately 50,000 documents consisting of approximately 420,000 pages from these banks regarding their policies, procedures, practices, and individual customer decisions.
The OCC first announced this review of its nine largest banks by asset size in September 2025 and issued preliminary findings in December 2025. Today’s report is the latest action by the OCC to address debanking and promote fair access. Other OCC actions include eliminating considerations of reputation risk in bank examinations, clarifying the OCC’s consideration of improper debanking in assessing licensing applications and during certain examinations, and improving the OCC’s complaint intake and review processes.
The OCC’s broader work to promote fair access to financial services and advance objective and risk-based banking decisions remains ongoing. The OCC is considering actions to prevent banks from discriminating against customers or prospective customers on the basis of their political or religious beliefs and to address the problematic role of reputation risk in bank decision-making.
“Notwithstanding certain efforts by the largest banks to rein in these practices, I am not confident that they will be enough,” Comptroller Gould said. “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.”
