Debanking, the practice of denying or closing financial accounts based on a customer’s political or religious views, has been a documented problem for years. Conservatives, religious organizations, and certain industries have found themselves locked out of basic financial services, with banks citing vague regulatory compliance concerns or “reputational risk” as justification. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has now opened a formal investigation into whether major financial institutions violated the law in doing so.
Last fall, 1792 Exchange commended five major banks — JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, PNC, and Regions — for amending their policies to explicitly protect customers from discrimination based on religious and political viewpoints. Those were genuine steps in the right direction, and 1792 recognized them as such. The investigation does not undo that progress. It addresses the conduct that made those policy changes necessary in the first place.
The banks that moved proactively deserve credit. Those who have not should take note: the era of using compliance language as cover for ideological gatekeeping is over.