OCC report finds nine large banks used subjective criteria in some service decisions
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The Facts
- The OCC reviewed debanking practices at nine large banks.
- The OCC found policies that restricted some customers’ access to financial services using subjective criteria.
- The OCC said the policies could affect customers because of political or religious views and lawful business activities.
- The OCC said banks largely lacked clear, measurable and objective risk-based standards for reputational-risk decisions.
- The review examined activity from 2020 through September 2025.
- The OCC did not announce fines or other penalties against the banks.
- Banks said account closures or service denials reflect legal, financial or reputational risks rather than politics.
Context
What does “debanking” mean?
It refers to a bank cutting off an account holder’s access to services, often citing legal, financial or reputational risks. Investing.com
Which banks were included in the review?
The OCC reviewed JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC, TD Bank and BMO Bank. National Review Yahoo! Finance Business Standard
What could happen next?
The OCC said it may consider policy changes, but it did not indicate that sanctions or other punishments were forthcoming. Aol Investing.com
Where Left and Right agree
Left and right largely agree on this one.
- What both sides accept
- Both sides conclude the nine banks relied on subjective, unmeasurable criteria to restrict lawful customers, and the no-penalty outcome leaves that unresolved.
- Where Left and Right differ in emphasis
- Both demand objective, published standards; the left centers the vulnerable customer with no appeal, the right centers the rule-of-law principle of transparent, checkable criteria.
How left and right read it
No one should lose a bank account over their politics or their faith. Yet the review of nine large banks found subjective criteria rather than clear, measurable, risk-based standards — so whatever the stated reason, the customer with the least leverage absorbs the error. The complaint reaching the president has been framed around conservatives, but the regulator closed the review without penalties. Who does a lawful customer appeal to?
“The report, released on Wednesday, examines a practice that President Trump has claimed discriminates against conservatives over their views.” — CBS News
Cutting a lawful customer off from the financial system should rest on standards anyone can read and check. Yet across nine large banks the review found the opposite: subjective criteria rather than clear, measurable, risk-based ones, touching political and religious views and lawful business activity from 2020 through September 2025 — and it closed with no penalties. Publish the standards, or drop them.
“This was a common practice over the past decade, as leftists used whatever means necessary to attack their political opponents.” — Townhall
The receipts — 82 sources
Wire services (4)
Independent coverage (78)
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