How Trump’s new executive order would impact Charlotte’s banking giants
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that will penalize banks for denying services to conservatives and crypto-industry supporters, a move that could potentially significantly impact Charlotte, one of the nation’s largest banking centers.
The order comes two days after Trump accused Charlotte-based Bank of America and also JPMorgan Chase of rejecting his business after his first presidential term ended in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot by his supporters.
“The banks discriminated against me very badly, and I was very good to the banks,” Trump told CNBC on Tuesday.
The executive order revolves around “debanking.” That term refers to the practice of banks closing or restricting access to financial services for certain individuals or entities, often based on assessments of risk to the bank’s reputation, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Trump, in his order, said banks can no longer consider the risk to their reputations when deciding whether to do business with someone.
But financial experts are skeptical that systematic bias exists, and have not seen proof.
The order does not detail evidence of debanking. But it includes rhetoric of the political right that some financial institutions participated in government-directed surveillance programs targeting individuals and industry following the Capitol riot.
“There’s not much evidence that political bias actually exists,” said Yongqiang Chu, director of the Childress Klein Center for finance at UNC Charlotte. “Whatever penalty the order is going to impose has to be based on solid proof. Otherwise, it’s going to be really bad” for banks.
Charlotte and its core banks of Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Truist, will come under additional scrutiny under the new order. It includes reviews of past debanking practices, potentially imposing fines, consent orders or referrals to the Department of Justice for violations.
Trump’s beef with the banks
Trump claimed he had hundreds of millions of dollars in hundreds of accounts, and was told he had 20 days to get out. Trump said he routinely calls Bank of America and that CEO Brian Moynihan was “kissing my ass” when he was president.
But afterward, when he had “a billion plus” to deposit, the bank said, “We can’t do it,” Trump said during the Squawk Box interview.
Both banks denied they discriminate against clients based on political alignment.
“Political beliefs are not a factor in account closure decisions,” Bank of America said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer on Thursday.
Moynihan responded to Trump’s comments Tuesday during an interview on CNBC saying, “We bank everybody.” JPMorgan Chase also denied it debanks.
“We don’t close accounts for political reasons,” JPMorgan Chase said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer.
Both banks, however, are pleased the White House is addressing the regulatory issues.
“We gotta stop the regulators behind the scenes of whipsawing back and forth enforcing our companies and companies like ours to make decisions which Congress hasn’t passed on or he hasn’t passed on,” Moynihan said on CNBC.
The executive order directs federal banking regulators to remove “reputation risk or equivalent concepts that could result in politicized or unlawful debanking” from their guidance documents, manuals, and other materials. Reputational risk refers to an institution losing consumer or stakeholder trust due to a negative perception of the bank or brand.
The order also instructs regulators to review banks’ past or current policies for politicized or unlawful debanking.
Banks now face fines, consent decrees and other disciplinary measures if federal banking regulators find they have engaged in politicized or unlawful debanking, according to the order.
Charlotte’s three dominant banks are Bank of America and Truist, both headquartered in Charlotte, and San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, which has 27,000 workers here.
Several banks have announced Charlotte expansions, including the largest U.S. bank, JPMorgan Chase, Ohio-based banks Huntington National Bank and Fifth Third Bank, Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank, Florida based BankUnited and Texas-based USAA.
Penalties without proof?
The executive order will affect everybody, said UNC Charlotte’s Chu.
There is no data on debanking specific to bank account closures, Chu said. “Banks do not disclose that information, and banks do not even give reasons for why their customer accounts are closed,” he said.
At issue is providing proof of discrimination or mistreatment of conservatives by banks, Chu said.
“I just do not see the systematic bias in what they call debank or bank account closures,” he said. “If the intention really is to get rid of politically driven banking decisions, I welcome that.
Executive order notes claims of discrimination
Along with Trump’s personal business claims, the executive order and an accompanying fact sheet cited instances of discrimination based on politics without offering evidence or additional details.
- A major bank denied ticket-payment processing services for a Republican event, reversing the decision only after it received public attention, the fact sheet stated.
The order does not name the company. But in 2021, WePay, a payment processor owned by JPMorgan Chase, denied ticket-payment processing for a GOP event hosted by the conservative Defense of Liberty, which planned to feature Donald Trump Jr.
WePay cited a policy against providing services related to “hate … racial intolerance … or items or activities that encourage, promote, facilitate, or instruct others regarding the same” as the reason for the denial. JPMorgan Chase later reversed this decision, stating that the group did not violate its terms of service.
- Operation Chokepoint, a federal debanking initiative, targeted “lawful industries for political reasons.” Federal regulators encouraged banks to flag individuals for transactions with companies like Bass Pro Shop or Cabela’s, or for using terms like “Trump” or “MAGA” in peer-to-peer payments, without evidence of criminal activity, according to the order.
Operation Choke Point was an initiative of the U.S. Department of Justice beginning in 2013 that investigated banks for business with firearm dealers, payday lenders and other companies operating legally that were considered high risk for fraud and money laundering.
Reputational risk language removed in March
Trump’s order directs federal banking regulators to remove “reputational risk and other equivalent concepts” from its guidance, examination manuals and other materials, according to a fact sheet on the White House website.
On March 20, the OCC announced it will no longer examine financial institutions for reputation risk.
The OCC has focused on reducing regulations, promoting financial inclusion and expanding banking activity in digital assets and fintech partnerships, acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood said last month.
The OCC clarified it does not make business decisions for banks. It also committed to ensuring fair access to banking services, including for cryptocurrency firms.
Trump, previously a skeptic of the volatile cryptocurrency, last month signed the first-ever Federal regulatory system for digital currency. Trump received millions of dollars in campaign donations from the crypto industry, national news outlets reported.
Trump also signed another executive order on Thursday making it easier for 401(k)s and other workplace retirement plans to offer employees the option of investing savings in alternative investments including real estate, private equity and cryptocurrencies.
Executive order directives
Additional terms in the debanking order include:
- The Small Business Administration is to require all financial institutions to make reasonable efforts to reinstate clients and potential clients previously denied services due to unlawful debanking.
- The Secretary of the Treasury must develop a comprehensive strategy combat politicized or unlawful debanking activities, including potential legislative or regulatory solutions.
- Federal banking regulators must review supervisory and complaint data for instances of unlawful debanking based on religion and refer such cases to the Attorney General.
“It’s in banks’ best interest to take deposits, lend to and support as many customers as possible,” The American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute, Consumer Bankers Association and Financial Services Forum said in a joint statement Thursday, responding to the order. “Unfortunately, regulatory overreach, supervisory discretion and a maze of obscure rules have stood in the way.”
This story was originally published August 8, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "How Trump’s new executive order would impact Charlotte’s banking giants."
