Executives within the banking sector expose the allegations of pressure from the administrations of Obama and Biden to discontinue services for conservative individuals.
The practice of political debanking, where banks close accounts or deny services to individuals or businesses for political reasons, has been a topic of controversy in recent years. According to reports, major bank executives have claimed pressure from the Obama and Biden administrations to deny services for political reasons.
CitiGroup, one of the banks under scrutiny, has made commitments to combat the practice of debanking. In a June statement, Citi confirmed their commitment to treating all current and potential clients fairly. However, when reached for comment, PNC declined to discuss the matter.
The origins of debanking can be traced back to federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations. The controversial Operation Choke Point, a DOJ task force, was accused by a congressional report of having targeted legal businesses for debanking during the Obama administration.
Representatives for both Obama and Biden did not respond to requests for comment regarding these allegations.
Another banking executive expressed concern that regulators' worldviews could influence their decisions, and banks would preemptively refuse to take certain clients to avoid regulatory scrutiny.
Bank of America stated they welcome regulatory clarity and have provided detailed proposals to improve the regulatory framework. JPMorgan Chase, another major bank, maintains they never engaged in political debanking and updated their code of conduct to state that they do not discriminate based on political views or religious beliefs in 2025.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order outlawing debanking, titled "Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans," which prohibits banks from denying services based on political views or other beliefs and bans the use of "reputational risk" as a criterion for politicized debanking.
Schwarzenberger, from Inspire Investing, expressed optimism that debanking for political reasons will become a thing of the past, pointing to commitments that banks made on their own before Trump's executive order was issued.
However, accusations of a rebooted initiative targeting cryptocurrency companies for debanking, known as Operation Choke Point 2.0, have been made during Biden's presidency. The search results do not specify the bank involved in the Biden administration's Operation Choke Point 2.0.
Trump ended Operation Choke Point in 2017, but the controversy surrounding political debanking continues. Banks such as JPMorgan, Bank of America, CitiGroup, and PNC Bank have all taken steps to reassure customers that they do not discriminate based on political or religious views.
Debanking refers to banks closing accounts or denying services to individuals or businesses, often with no explanation. The practice, whether driven by political or other factors, raises concerns about fairness and transparency in the banking sector.
