The country’s biggest banks are about to find out whether they’re in trouble. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is preparing to release findings from a sweeping review into whether major lenders improperly closed customer accounts based on political, religious, or reputational grounds.
The probe covers nine major national banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. Both could face formal sanctions if the OCC determines their account closure practices crossed the line from legitimate risk management into something more targeted.
What the OCC is actually investigating
The investigation was triggered by an executive order President Trump issued on August 7, 2025, which directed regulators to probe whether banks denied services to Americans based on their political or religious views. The order specifically targeted what critics have labeled “debanking,” the practice of cutting off financial access to individuals or businesses in disfavored sectors.
Conservative-aligned industries have been at the center of the controversy. Fossil fuel companies, firearms dealers, and cryptocurrency firms have all reported being shut out of the banking system, sometimes with little or no explanation. Crypto firms in particular have long complained about an inability to secure or maintain basic banking relationships, a problem the industry has attributed to regulatory pressure under the previous administration.
