The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which supervises US national banks, has published its final report on “debanking” at the nine largest banks it oversees. It says all nine had policies between 2020 and September 2025 that limited some customers’ access to banking because of their beliefs or lawful business activities. The OCC released the report on 14 October 2026.
The banks named are JPMorgan Chase Bank, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo Bank, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank and BMO Bank. The OCC did not announce any penalties against individual banks.
What the OCC found
“Debanking” means a bank refusing or ending service to a customer. The OCC carried out its review under a 2025 executive order from President Trump on fair access to banking.
According to the OCC, the banks used broad “reputation risk” policies that lacked clear, objective criteria and disadvantaged some Americans based on their political, religious or social views or their lawful businesses. It found the banks restricted access for whole sectors, including oil and gas, coal, firearms, detention facilities, tobacco and e-cigarettes, and digital assets.
On crypto, the OCC’s report says many banks restricted digital-asset activities, “including on issuers, exchanges, or administrators, often attributed to financial crime considerations.”
The OCC said it reviewed nearly 100,000 complaints and about 420,000 pages of bank documents. It first announced the review in September 2025 and issued preliminary findings in December 2025.
“Today’s report provides irrefutable evidence that the nation’s largest banks have denied, debanked and discriminated against customers and lawful businesses,” said Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould.
What happens next
The OCC said it is considering further changes to rules and supervision for the largest banks to stop such practices recurring. “Notwithstanding certain efforts by the largest banks to rein in these practices, I am not confident that they will be enough,” Gould said.
The same day, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), another federal regulator, announced it would investigate whether the banks in the OCC’s report “and others” have complied with consumer finance laws, and “take appropriate action”.
The CFPB used strongly political language. It described its work as advancing “President Trump’s fight against the debanking” of people including supporters of “President Trump, MAGA, pro-life causes, and industries disfavored by the Left”. Its acting director, Mark Paoletta, called the practices “thuggish tactics”. These are the CFPB’s words.
The sources TSN read did not include responses from the banks.
What this means
- Crypto firms get official backing for their complaints. The report confirms banks restricted digital-asset businesses.
- No penalties yet. Neither the OCC nor the CFPB has announced action against a named bank.
- This is also political. The review follows a presidential order, and the regulators frame it in political terms.
Sources
- Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, News Release 2026-90, “OCC Releases Report on Large Banks’ Debanking Activities”, 14 October 2026. https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2026/nr-occ-2026-90.html
- Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, “Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans” (report page). https://www.occ.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/fair-banking/index-guaranteeing-fair-banking.html
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, announcement of a new initiative to address OCC-uncovered debanking by large banks, 14 October 2026. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-announces-new-initiative-to-address-occ-uncovered-debanking-by-large-banks/
