Report: U.S. banks restricted customers over political, religious views

The report found JPMorgan Chase Bank, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo Bank, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank and BMO Bank had policies that influenced financial decisions based on political, religious or business activity. 

The OCC analyzed 100,000 complaints of discriminatory behavior between 2020 and September 2025 and received 420,000 pages from banks regarding their policies and procedures. 

“Americans should have access to financial services regardless of their beliefs, affiliations, or political views," said Comptroller of Currency Jonathan V. Gould. "Fair access to financial services is not a mantra – it is a mandate."

In August 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order requiring federal banking regulators to review policies under the nation's largest financial institutions. 

Specifically, certain banks restricted access to industry sectors' in oil and gas, firearms distribution and digital assets including cryptocurrency. 

The report cited instances where banks placed restrictions on customers that did not align on internal standards, including the sale of high-capacity magazines and the sale of firearms to individuals under 21 years old. 

Additionally, the report found banks restricted access to immigrant detention facilities, citing a "reputation risk" stemming from "profiting from incarceration and immigrant detention." 

CitiBank and Wells Fargo did not immediately respond to The Center Square's request for comment. The banks referred other news outlets to a statement from the Bank Policy Institute. 

"The banking industry supports fair access to banking services and has been working to ensure that government regulations and policies enable banks to serve law-abiding customers," a statement from the Bank Policy Institute reads. 

The OCC investigated JPMorgan Chase Bank's subsidiary WePay, which it said terminated accounts for several political and religious groups. WePay, the OCC said, maintained a flagging system that highlighted terms such as "MAGA," "Make American Great Again" and "America First" used by customers to initiate further review. 

A spokesperson for JPMorgan did not immediately respond to The Center Square's request for comment. WePay is no longer operational after it was first acquired by JPMorgan in 2017. 

"Our policies prohibit discrimination against customers based on political or religious views," a spokesperson for JPMorgan told CNBC. 

The report also alleged Wells Fargo influenced one of its independent sales organizations to close the account of an entity with religious affiliation. Throughout the account closing process, Wells Fargo pointed to the nonprofit's views on same-sex marriage. 

"The OCC understands that the nonprofit received no advanced warning of the independent sales organization’s account closure decision and no explanation beyond that it was identified as affiliated with a product or service that promotes hate, violence, harassment, or abuse," the report reads. 

"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," Gould said.