Top U.S. banks dropped customers over political and religious views, regulator says

October 14, 2026 / 4:42 PM EDT / CBS News

Top U.S. banks have "debanked" customers because of their political or religious views, as well as their business activities, according to a report from the Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The report, released on Wednesday, examines a practice that President Trump has claimed discriminates against conservatives over their views. Debanking has also been highlighted by some cryptocurrency investors, who claim their accounts have been closed because banks are uncomfortable working with crypto industry clients.

The OCC said the report was in accordance with Mr. Trump's 2025 executive order requiring federal banking regulators to review complaints to identify financial institutions that had declined business with clients because of their views.

Some conservatives have argued that they've been unfairly targeted by financial institutions, although the OCC found that some banks had also refused to do business with Democratic-leaning organizations. Debanking can also occur for legal and regulatory reasons, such as if a bank detects potentially fraudulent activity or an account is overdrawn.

The OCC, which reviewed 100,000 complaints and hundreds of bank decisions between 2020 and September 2025, found that the nine largest national banks it supervises had…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/moneywatch/