Top US Banks Had Policies That Could Restrict Customers Over Political and Religious Views, Regulator Finds

The OCC reviewed nearly 100,000 complaints and 420,000 pages of documents on policies that could restrict banking access based on political or religious beliefs. (Credit: G. Edward Johnson/Wikimedia Commons CC BY 4.0)

The nine largest national banks supervised by the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) maintained policies or practices that may have influenced decisions to deny or limit financial services based on customers' political or religious beliefs or lawful business activities, according to a report released by the regulator.

Published on Wednesday, 14 October, the report examined bank policies and decisions dating from 2020 through September 2025. Conducted under President Donald Trump's August 2025 executive order, 'Guaranteeing Fair Access to Banking for All Americans,' the review found that broad reputation-risk policies lacking clear standards and objective, risk-based criteria disadvantaged certain customers because of their political, religious, or social views or lawful business activities.