President Donald J. Trump has signed an Executive Order aimed at ending banking discrimination based on political or religious beliefs, as well as lawful business activities. The order prohibits Federal regulators from promoting guidance or practices that enable financial institutions to deny services for ideological reasons, ensuring fair access to banking for all Americans.
Under the new directive, Federal banking regulators must remove references to “reputational risk” and similar concepts from their policies, as these have often been used to justify debanking. The Small Business Administration is also instructed to require financial institutions under its oversight to make reasonable efforts to reinstate clients previously denied services unlawfully.
Additionally, the Secretary of the Treasury will develop a comprehensive strategy to combat politicized debanking, exploring legislative and regulatory solutions. Federal regulators must review banks for current or past policies encouraging such practices and impose remedial actions where necessary. Instances of unlawful debanking based on religion must be referred to the Attorney General.
Addressing Unfair Banking Practices
President Trump asserts that no American should lose access to financial services because of personal beliefs, stressing that banking decisions should rely solely on objective, risk-based analysis. The order addresses what he refers to as systemic abuses, for example, banks refusing payment services for Republican events, both banks watching clients use Bass Pro Shop and/or using the words “Trump,” “MAGA,” etc. in their transactions, and banks declining service to his businesses.
Other government initiatives such as Operation Chokepoint, which ended in targeting lawful industries for political purposes, and other examples against the digital assets sector, have eroded public confidence, disrupted livelihoods, and imposed costs on law-abiding citizens.
Upholding Economic Freedom
President Trump repeated his pledge to defend constitutional rights and restore a reduction in regulatory overreach that he claims unwisely targets conservatives and religious sects. He pledged to hold banks and regulators [account] to the rule of law. He noted that his administration has already ended Operation Chokepoint 2.0, which severely impacted the digital assets industry. By eliminating politicized debanking, the administration seeks to restore fair treatment in financial services and ensure that Americans are not excluded from economic participation based on ideology or belief.
