Trump Administration Prepares to Punish Big Banks over Alleged Discrimination against Conservative Customers

The Trump administration is reportedly drafting an executive order to punish big banks for allegedly discriminating against conservative customers. A draft of the order, seen by the Wall Street Journal, directs regulators to investigate financial institutions for breaching the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, antitrust laws, or consumer financial protection laws. The order aims to address the practice of debanking, where banks drop customers based on political grounds.

Key Takeaways:

• The Trump administration's draft executive order targets financial institutions that allegedly discriminate against conservative customers, directing regulators to investigate potential breaches of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, antitrust laws, or consumer financial protection laws.
• A draft of the order was seen by the Wall Street Journal, which suggested it could be signed as early as this week.
• The order aims to address the practice of debanking, where banks drop customers based on political grounds, citing examples such as the debanking of Nigel Farage by Coutts in the summer of 2023.
• US banks have been fearful about being targeted by the Trump administration, following his attacks on universities and big law firms.
• Both JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America have denied making banking decisions based on politics.
• The criticism comes amid accusations from conservatives that financial institutions were engaging in "woke capitalism" and unfairly cutting ties with businesses perceived to be aligned with the political right.
• Cryptocurrency companies have also said they were shut out of banking services under the Biden administration.
• The Trump Organisation was "debanked" by Capital One in March, leading to a lawsuit alleging egregious conduct and a clear attack on free speech and free enterprise.

Statistics:

• 300: The number of Trump Organisation accounts closed by Capital One, according to the Trump Organisation's lawsuit.
• 9th largest bank: The ranking of Capital One in the US, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
• Summer 2023: The time when Nigel Farage's account was closed by Coutts due to his views not aligning with the bank's values.
• January: The month when Trump accused the CEOs of JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America of refusing to provide services for conservatives.

Sources:

• [1] Wall Street Journal: "Draft Executive Order Aims to Punish Banks for Refusing to Serve Conservatives"
• [2] The Trump Organisation: "Press Release: Trump Organisation Sued by Capital One for 'Egregious Conduct'"
• [3] BBC News: "Nigel Farage's bank Coutts 'violated' his human rights"
• [4] CNN Business: "Cryptocurrency companies claim banks are shutting them out"