The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced this Wednesday a new initiative to investigate whether the nine largest national banks in the United States complied with federal consumer protection laws, following the release of a report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) that concluded all of these entities maintained practices capable of excluding clients based on their political or religious beliefs.
The final report of the OCC covers the period from 2020 to September 2025 and examines JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank, and BMO Bank, institutions that hold $12.7 trillion in assets, accounting for 76% of the total supervised by the agency.
To formulate its conclusions, the OCC analyzed nearly 100,000 complaints filed with institutions under its supervision and reviewed about 50,000 documents—approximately 420,000 pages—submitted by the banks themselves.
The regulator identified two main categories of problematic practices: "reputational risk" policies without objective criteria based on financial risk, and sectoral restrictions that limited access to services in industries such as oil and gas, coal mining, firearms, detention centers, tobacco, and digital assets.
Among the concrete examples—without identifying the banks involved—was the closure, in February 2021, of an account belonging to a seller of Trump/MAGA products by a payment processor associated with a bank, and the refusal, in February 2023, to provide services to a public educational organization due to its exclusive support for Democratic candidates from its political arm.
The Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould presented the findings at a press conference in Lexington, Kentucky. "What began as decisions by executives to exclude struggling industries became institutionalized and opaque bureaucracies that empowered banking employees to cut off access to financial services," he stated.
Gould specified that the agency does not require banks to serve all customers: "Banks must assess each customer using objective criteria based on risk."
The report does not impose immediate fines or penalties. According to Reuters, the regulator indicated that it may consider additional regulatory changes to discourage these practices.
In parallel, the CFPB will open compliance investigations into the institutions named and other financial entities, focusing on the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and provisions regarding unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices (UDAAP).
The agency updated its complaint portal so that any consumer who believes they have been improperly excluded from banking services can file a formal complaint.
This dual regulatory action is framed within Executive Order 14331, signed by President Trump in August 2025, which directed federal banking regulators to review and eliminate the use of "reputational risk" in their supervisory frameworks.
Bank Policy Institute (BPI), which represents large banks, responded with a statement expressing its support for fair access: "The banking industry supports equitable access to banking services and has worked to ensure that government regulations allow banks to serve law-abiding customers," stated the association, which expressed its willingness to collaborate with the Government and Congress.
Gould warned that, despite some efforts by banks to correct these practices, he is not certain that they are sufficient: "The OCC will evaluate additional changes to the regulatory framework applicable to the largest entities to reduce the likelihood of these harmful practices occurring again in the future."
Related videos:
Filed under: