OCC Report Reveals Major Banks Targeted Conservative Groups
For years, the promise was simple: banks serve everyone. The reality? Nine of the nation’s largest banks refused to serve American citizens based on their politics. They shut down accounts for pro-life causes, religious groups, and merchants selling MAGA merchandise. This happened between 2020 and 2025.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) launched a comprehensive review. According to the Daily Wire, the agency examined nearly 100,000 complaints. They also scrutinized about 420,000 pages of internal bank documents. The investigation found a pattern. Banks used a vague label called “reputation risk” to deny service. They feared bad press, protests, or criticism from groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The Democrats:
-Debanked conservatives
-Spied on conservatives
-Censored conservatives
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) October 14, 2026
These banks targeted specific industries they disliked. Per the New York Post, they restricted financing for firearms makers, Arctic oil and gas, and coal. They even blocked private prisons and tobacco companies. Abortion, LGBTQ issues, and traditional family values became the focus of bank targeting.
One specific case stands out. JPMorgan Chase owns a payment company called WePay. In February 2021, WePay closed an account for a merchant selling pro-Trump products. According to the Daily Wire, an employee wrote a clear reason for the ban. The bank’s software automatically flagged terms like “America First” and “Make America Great.”
The banks claim they have fixed the problem. All nine banks told the OCC they changed their policies. But the regulator is not convinced. According to the Daily Wire, the agency wrote a blunt warning in its report.
Today’s @USOCC report exposes how far Biden-era debanking went to pressure banks to cut off Americans for their politics, faith, and lawful businesses.
My Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee has exposed this overreach since our first hearing on Operation Choke Point 2.0 and in our report on Biden’s debanking of digital assets.
@FinancialCmte is working to end debanking for good. My SAFE Guidance Act stops regulators from using unofficial guidance to pressure banks, and @RepAndyBarr’s FIRM Act permanently ends the “reputation risk” standard Biden regulators used to discourage institutions from banking lawful industries like firearms and crypto.
Thank you to @USComptroller Gould and OCC for their work to expose this overreach, and I look forward to continuing our work together to ensure a future administration cannot repeat Biden’s mistakes.
— Congressman Dan Meuser (@RepMeuser) October 14, 2026
Some banks tried to hide the issue by renaming it. Per the Daily Wire, some institutions simply called “reputation risk” as “franchise” or “brand” risk. The report noted a key failure.
The agency found that negative press drove these decisions. Fear of regulators or politicians pushed banks to drop lawful customers. According to the New York Post, the banks cited reprisals from the Biden administration as a major risk. They treated firearms and oil sectors as disfavored. They treated conservative groups as liabilities.
Comptroller Gould spoke directly about the situation. As RedState reported, he said, “Notwithstanding certain efforts by the largest banks to rein in these practices, I am not confident that they will be enough.” Although a JPMorgan representative mentioned concerning the specific business unit involved that “We identified it, corrected it, and the business no longer operates,” the broader pattern remains clear.