Banks closed accounts of MAGA, pro-life and other conservative groups disadvantaged by Biden admin

Big banks closed accounts and denied credit to MAGA traders, pro-life causes, religious groups, conservative organizations and sectors disfavored by the Biden administration, like guns, oil and gas and private prisons, an explosive report from the federal banking regulator found.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Debanking Review investigated 100,000 complaints and examined 50,000 internal banking records to reveal how customers were “debanked” based solely on their political, social or religious beliefs.

JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, US Bank, Capital One, PNC, TD Bank and BMO Bank were found to have discriminated against US consumers, citing “reputational risk” as a reason for denying service between 2020 and 2025.

Negative press, protests, criticism from advocacy groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center, and retaliation from regulators or politicians have been cited as the reputational risks most feared by banks.
The OCC’s 47-page report, “Ensuring Fair Banking for All Americans,” released Wednesday, finds that the nation’s largest banks have targeted Christian organizations on abortion, LGBTQ issues and traditional family values.

Banks have also restricted financing for “disadvantaged” industries such as gun manufacturers and retailers, Arctic oil and gas, coal, detention centers, tobacco and e-cigarettes.

Examples cited in the report include JPMorgan Chase’s payment operation WePay shutting down the account of a merchant who sold merchandise promoting President Trump and the Make America Great Again (MAGA) brand, saying it “promoted racial hatred, violence, or intolerance.”

The bank’s internal monitoring system routinely flagged terms like “MAGA,” “Make America Great” and “America First” that appeared in merchants’ customer profiles, websites and transaction information. Many of the terms used to find “violations” were added after the January 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol.

WePay also closed the accounts of a merchant selling “t-shirts, hats, etc.” Conservatives/Republicans.” Merchandise that raised “red flags” included a “Biden-Illegitimate-Tshirt,” a “The-Big-Lie-Sticker,” and a “Trump-Won” flag.

A merchant has been kicked out of his bank for processing payments for a planned event after the event organizer posted promotional material on social media that bank employees deemed “incitement to hatred.”

The posts described Black Lives Matter as “Marxist” and called President Biden and Anthony Fauci “enemies.”

Banks routinely used the Southern Poverty Law Center’s hate group designations to remove customers. The SPLC was indicted in April on federal fraud and money laundering charges, with prosecutors alleging it defrauded donors of millions of dollars. FBI Director Kash Patel described the nonprofit as a “partisan smear machine.”

JPMorgan’s WePay, for example, terminated the account of a religious organization citing its designation as an “extremist hate group” by the SPLC.

In the bank’s internal tracking system, employees described the organization as “a right-wing conservative religious nonprofit with strong anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.”

WePay also closed an account used to raise money to support a legal challenge to anti-discrimination laws by a “devout Christian.”

PNC refused to extend a line of credit to a successful media company because the bank’s environmental and social governance group noted that one of the owners owned a foundation that “funded several Christian conservative groups, including several identified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.” Another owner was called a “conservative political commentator.”

The bank employee who recommended denial wrote: “I think it’s becoming really difficult to justify aligning ourselves with a company whose owners have built very public personas around views that are very contrary to PNC’s beliefs/values.” »

Wells Fargo pressured a payer to terminate a religious nonprofit over its views on same-sex marriage.

Wells Fargo also refused to lend money to two gun companies as employees feared repercussions from the Biden administration and criticism from anti-gun activists and members of Congress.

“Under the Biden administration, banks may face greater supervisory pressure to move away from lending to the gun industry,” noted an assessment of the reputational risk of a potential gun customer.

Bank of America withdrew corporate banks from private prisons citing a “change in attitude among policymakers” and then attempted to reinstate one of the accounts just months into the Trump administration.

The OCC report also reveals that organizations on both sides of the political spectrum have been denied services because of their perceived political affiliations.

Capital One, for example, has refused to provide financial services to any partisan entity supporting the campaigns of candidates from a single political party.

The bank refused to do business with an organization promoting “reproductive rights (which were) synonymous with abortion and Democrats” and also refused services to a gun rights organization “because of the perception that we supported its position.”

Although all nine banks told the OCC they had revised their practices, the regulator said the reforms did not go far enough and no bank has “fully and publicly acknowledged” its “weaponization of finance against American workers.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced an investigation into the banks on Wednesday and pledged to address any harm caused to consumers by the banking practices described in the report.

“It is appalling that these banks targeted American consumers because of their political, social or religious beliefs that did not align with those of the Biden administration or its left-wing allies,” said Mark Paoletta, acting director of the CFPB.

“Many of those targeted were supporters of President Trump. These thug tactics… have no place in America…

“The CFPB will fully investigate whether the institutions profiled in the OCC report and others have complied with federal consumer finance laws and will take appropriate action.”

The CFPB has primary supervisory and enforcement authority for banks with assets over $10 billion.

Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould said the OCC plans to take further steps to prevent banks from discriminating against customers based on their political or religious beliefs.

“Today’s report provides compelling evidence that the nation’s largest banks have refused, withdrawn their bank accounts and discriminated against legal customers and businesses,” he said.

The OCC review followed President Trump’s executive order directing federal banking regulators to combat “politicized or illegal debanking.” The August 7, 2025 order stated that “no American should be denied access to financial services because of his or her political beliefs, affiliations, or opinions protected by the Constitution or law.”

Donald Trump is suing JPMorgan Chase, alleging the company closed its accounts in 2021 for political reasons after the Capitol riot.

Melania, Eric and Barron Trump also complained about being unbanked at that time, along with several Trump businesses.

Tech founder Marc Andreessen claimed that tech entrepreneurs were locked out of their banks under a Biden administration program because they were operating underprivileged businesses like crypto. He also alleged that his partner’s father was barred from his banks because of his conservative political views.

Americans who believe they have been unfairly debanked can visit helpwithmybank.gov.