From CBS NEWS: President Trump on Tuesday claimed that major banks are discriminating against conservatives — including him — through the act of debanking, or when financial institutions refuse to work with some individuals or businesses or abruptly close clients’ accounts.
Mr. Trump made the comment in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, after he was asked about a report by the Wall Street Journal that said he would soon sign an executive order aimed at stamping out debanking. Mr. Trump claimed that JPMorgan Chase gave him 20 days to close his account, although he didn’t specify when this occurred or what reason he was given by the bank for doing so. He also claimed that Bank of America refused his business after he left JPMorgan.
The issue of debanking has become a sticking point for some conservatives who claim that they’ve been unfairly targeted by financial institutions. Debanking can occur for a number of reasons, such as if a financial institution detects potentially fraudulent activity or the account owner is overdrawn, but some conservatives claim they have been rejected due to their political views.
“They discriminated against many conservatives,” Trump told CNBC.
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan denied the allegation. He told CBS News’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that the bank has a massive customer base with diverse clientele. He cited federal regulations, legal risk, and financial risk, as being the factor in banking decisions.
“We have 70 million consumers, and we’re the biggest small business lender,” Moynihan said. “That’s not — the issue they’re focused on is the regulators impact on this industry.”
“So we look at it. We look at it based on risk. People may feel those decisions are made for some other reason, but we always make it on what’s best for our company, what’s best for our client,” he claimed.
JPMorgan Chase said in a statement that decisions are not made for political reasons, and that it agrees with Trump that “regulatory change is desperately needed.”
“We’re pleased to see the White House is addressing this issue, for which we’ve been advocating for many years, and look forward to working with them to get this right,” the institution said.
READ MORE AT CBS NEWS
