The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) conducted a review of the nine largest national banks, analyzing nearly 100,000 complaints and 420,000 pages of documents. The report indicates that all nine banks employed 'reputation risk' policies that lacked clear and objective standards, potentially disadvantaging customers based on their political or religious beliefs.
This issue has been a point of contention for former President Donald Trump, who has accused banks of discriminating against conservatives. Notably, the OCC's findings come shortly after it imposed over $1.2 billion in penalties on Bank of America for anti-money-laundering failures.
The OCC is now considering additional regulations to prevent political or religious discrimination in banking services. One highlighted case involved JPMorgan's WePay, which closed accounts for merchants selling Trump-related merchandise, using an internal screening list that included terms associated with conservative politics.
JPMorgan has stated that it prohibits discrimination based on political views and has since addressed the issue. The implications of this report could lead to significant changes in how banks operate and interact with customers, particularly in politically sensitive contexts