Major Banks Under Fire for Targeting Conservative Groups in Secretive Debanking Scandal
Major banks closed accounts and refused credit to MAGA merchants, pro-life causes, religious groups, conservative organizations and sectors disfavored by the Biden administration, such as firearms, oil and gas, and private prisons, a bombshell report from the federal banking regulator has found.The Debanking Review by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) investigated 100,000 complaints and scrutinized 50,000 internal bank records to reveal how customers were “debanked” based purely on their political, social, or religious beliefs.JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC, TD Bank, and BMO Bank were found to have discriminated against American consumers, citing “reputation risk” as a reason to deny service between 2020 and 2025.President Joe Biden delivers a prime-time address to the nation in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 24, 2024. Bloomberg via Getty ImagesNegative press, protests, criticism from advocacy groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center, and reprisals from regulators or politicians were cited as the reputation risks most feared by the banks.The 47-page OCC report, “Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans,” released Wednesday, found that the nation’s largest banks targeted Christian organizations over abortion, LGBTQ issues, and traditional family values. The banks also restricted financing for “disfavored” industries such as firearms makers and retailers, Arctic oil and gas, coal, detention facilities, tobacco and e-cigarettes.Among the examples in the report is JPMorgan Chase’s payment operation, WePay, closing the account of a merchant that sold merchandise promoting President Trump and the Make America Great Again (MAGA) brand, claiming it “promote[d] hate, violence, or racial intolerance.”The bank’s internal screening system regularly flagged terms such as “MAGA,” “Make America Great,” and “America First” that appeared in merchants’ customer profiles, websites, and transaction information. Several of the terms used to find “violations” were added after the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. WePay also closed accounts for a merchant selling “conservative/republican t-shirts, hats, etc.” Merchandise that raised “red flags” included a “Biden-Illegitimate-Tshirt,” “The-Big-Lie-Sticker”, and a “Trump-Won” flag.JPMorgan Chase bank’s internal screening system regularly flagged terms such as “MAGA,” “Make America Great,” and “America First” that appeared in merchants’ customer profiles. Jimin Kim/SOPA Images/ShutterstockPeople are reflected in a window as they walk by a Citibank branch in New York City, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. REUTERSA merchant was debanked for processing payments for a planned event after the event organizer posted promotional material on social media that bank employees decided was “an incitement of hate”.The posts described Black Lives Matter as “Marxists” and called President Biden and Anthony Fauci “the enemy”.Banks regularly used hate group designations from the Southern Poverty Law Center to debank customers. The SPLC was indicted in April on federal fraud and money-laundering charges, with prosecutors alleging it defrauded donors of millions of dollars. FBI Director Kash Patel has described the non-profit as a “partisan smear machine.” JPMorgan’s WePay, for instance, closed the account of a religious organization citing the fact it had been designated an “extremist hate group” by the SPLC. In the bank’s internal tracking system, employees described the organization as a “[r]ight wing religious conservative non profit with strong anti LGBTQ rhetoric.” WePay also closed an account used to raise funds to support a legal challenge of anti-discrimination laws by a “devout Christian”. PNC refused to issue a line of credit to a successful media company because the bank’s environmental and social governance group noted that one owner had a foundation that “has funded several Christian conservative groups, including several identified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.” Another owner was branded “a conservative political commentator.” People are reflected in a window as they walk by a Citibank branch in New York City, July 16, 2025. REUTERSThe bank employee who recommended the refusal wrote: “I think it becomes really difficult to justify aligning ourselves with a company whose owners have built very public personas around opinions very contrary to PNC’s beliefs/values.”Wells Fargo pressured a payment processor to terminate a religious nonprofit because of its views on same-sex marriage. Wells Fargo also declined to lend money to two firearms businesses, with employees fearing repercussions from the Biden administration and criticism from anti-gun activists and members of Congress.“Under the Biden administration, banks could face greater supervisory pressure to move away from lending to the firearms industry,” noted a reputation risk review of a prospective firearms client.Wells Fargo pressured a payment processor to terminate a religious nonprofit because of its views on same-sex marriage. Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBank of America debanked private-prison businesses citing “changing policymaker attitudes,” and then tried to re-establish one of the accounts just months into the Trump administration.The OCC report also found organizations on both sides of the political spectrum had been denied services because of their perceived political affiliations. Capital One, for instance, declined to provide financial services to any partisan entity that supported the campaigns of candidates from a single political party. The bank refused business with an organization promoting “reproductive rights [that was] synonymous with abortion and the Dems” and also declined services to a gun rights organization “due to optics that we endorsed its position.”Bank of America debanked private-prison businesses citing “changing policymaker attitudes,” and then tried to re-establish one of the accounts just months into the Trump administration. Christopher Sadowski for NY PostAlthough all nine banks told the OCC they had revised their practices, the regulator said the reforms have not gone far enough and that no bank had “fully and publicly acknowledged” its “weaponization of finance against hardworking Americans.”The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced an investigation into the banks Wednesday and pledged to address any consumer harm caused by the debanking practices described in the report.“It is appalling that these banks targeted American consumers for their political, social, or religious beliefs that did not align with the Biden Administration or its leftist allies,” said CFPB’s Acting Director Mark Paoletta. “Many of those targeted were supporters of President Trump. These thuggish tactics… have no place in America…“The CFPB will fully investigate whether the institutions featured in OCC’s report and others have complied with federal consumer financial laws and take appropriate action.” The CFPB holds primary supervisory and enforcement authority for banks with over $10 billion in assets.Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould said the OCC is considering further action to stop banks discriminating against customers on the basis of their political or religious beliefs.“Today’s report provides irrefutable evidence that the nation’s largest banks have denied, debanked and discriminated against customers and lawful businesses,” he said.The OCC review followed President Trump’s executive order directing federal banking regulators to combat “politicized or unlawful debanking”. The August 7, 2025 order declared that “no American should be denied access to financial services because of their constitutionally or statutorily protected beliefs, affiliations, or political views.”President Donald Trump addresses the crowd during a midterm rally for Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Congressman Nick Begich, R-Alaska, in Wasilla, Alaska, on Oct. 13, 2026. ZUMAPRESS.comDonald Trump is suing JPMorgan Chase, alleging it closed his accounts in 2021 for political reasons after the Capitol riot.Melania, Eric, and Barron Trump have also complained they were debanked at that time, along with several Trump businesses. Tech founder Marc Andreessen has claimed tech entrepreneurs were debanked under a program by the Biden administration because they were operating disfavored businesses like crypto. He also alleged his partner’s father was debanked for his conservative political views.Americans who believe they were unfairly debanked can visit helpwithmybank.gov.A spokesman for JPMorgan Chase said: “A process used by WePay, a small technology company we acquired years ago and have since wound down, did not meet our expectations. We identified it, corrected it, and the business no longer operates… Our policies prohibit discrimination against customers based on political or religious views.”
