President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order this week that would penalise financial institutions accused of discriminating against conservative customers and cryptocurrency companies, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The draft order directs bank regulators to investigate whether lenders have violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which prohibits discrimination in access to credit. It also calls for probes into potential breaches of antitrust and consumer financial protection laws, with violations to be reported to the attorney general in some cases.
The order criticises the role some banks played in the investigation into the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots, and appears to reference the case of a Christian organisation in Uganda whose accounts were closed by Bank of America. The bank has said it does not serve small businesses operating outside the US.
Conservatives have long accused banks of denying services based on political or religious beliefs. In January, Trump said the CEOs of Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase did not provide banking services to conservatives. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott also blamed regulators for shutting down accounts of Americans they 'just don't like'.
Crypto firms have complained they were denied banking services under the Biden administration, with banks citing regulatory pressure. A Bank of America spokesperson welcomed efforts to provide regulatory clarity, saying the bank is committed to working with the administration to improve the regulatory framework.
