U.S. Banking Regulator Warns Wall Street on 'Debanking,' Claims Practices 'Unlawful'

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a report warning Wall Street banks against 'debanking' practices, particularly against controversial industries like digital assets, and threatened potential punishment for repeat offenses. This action follows President Donald Trump's executive order demanding regulators probe and penalize institutions unfairly severing customers from banking services. The OCC's review of nine major national banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup, found that between 2020 and 2023, these banks maintained policies restricting access for certain sectors, sometimes requiring escalated reviews for environmentally sensitive or controversial businesses. The OCC stated its intent to hold banks accountable, potentially by referring cases to the attorney general, although the specific laws violated were not clearly cited. The report also references the OCC's prior efforts to remove 'reputational risk' as a supervisory consideration. However, the report drew criticism from analysts for not fully addressing the context, such as regulators explicitly assessing banks on reputation.

(Source：CoinDesk)