The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said major banks used reputation-risk policies that could disadvantage customers over political or religious views or lawful business activities, CNBC reported on October 14. The regulator announced no new fines or sanctions from the review and said it was considering additional anti-discrimination rules.
The OCC examined nearly 100,000 complaints and about 420,000 pages of documents from the nine largest national banks under its supervision. It found that all nine had policies lacking clear, objective standards for deciding when a customer posed a reputation risk.
The inquiry began last year under a Trump executive order. It covered JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank and BMO Bank.
One example involved JPMorgan's WePay closing accounts belonging to merchants selling Trump and conservative merchandise. The OCC found screening terms such as MAGA but no formal written standards for deciding whether flagged material constituted prohibited hate or violence. JPMorgan told CNBC its policies bar political or religious discrimination, that it fixed the problem and that it has since shut down WePay.
The findings also crossed political lines. The report cited Capital One declining relationships with an abortion-rights group and a public education group with Democratic ties. It also cited rejection of a gun-rights group because the bank feared the relationship could appear to be an endorsement.
All nine banks told the OCC they had revised or consolidated policies intended to ensure fair access. The regulator said none had fully acknowledged past debanking decisions or created a comprehensive program to help affected customers remedy the consequences.
