Banks Accused of Political Bias: Trump Fires Back with Executive Order

President Donald Trump claims JPMorgan and Bank of America turned their backs on him, accusing JPMorgan of demanding him to close long-held accounts and Bank of America of refusing a $1 billion deposit. Trump believes regulators were weaponized against him under the Biden administration and is preparing an executive order to investigate account closures rooted in political bias. The banks have pushed back, with JPMorgan and Bank of America denying any political motivations for the account closures.

In a recent interview, former President Donald Trump accused two of the nation's largest banks, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC), of discriminating against him and his supporters. Trump claimed that JPMorgan demanded he close accounts held for decades within 20 days, while Bank of America declined his attempt to deposit over a billion dollars [1].

Trump's accusations follow reports that his administration was preparing an executive order threatening financial institutions who refuse to do business on ideological grounds. The former president believes that banking regulators were weaponized against him under the Biden administration [2].

In response to the allegations, JPMorgan and Bank of America have denied any political motivations for the account closures. JPMorgan stated it does not close accounts for political reasons and supports regulatory change. Bank of America said it serves 70 million clients and does not apply any political litmus test, though it acknowledged that government regulations sometimes lead to ending client relationships [3].

Trump's claims have sparked a broader reckoning with how banks decide who gets to stay and who gets shut out. The banking industry is closely watching the situation, with groups like the Bank Policy Institute hoping a forthcoming executive order will rein in what they call supervisory overreach [4].

The issue is not limited to the United States. In the UK, political figure Nigel Farage's bank account was closed by NatWest's Coutts unit, sparking backlash and a wider review [5].

References:
[1] https://news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/trump-says-jpmorgan-and-bank-of-america-refused-his-business
[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/05/trump-jpmorgan-chase-bank-of-america-rejected-bank-customer.html
[3] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/hundreds-of-millions-in-cash-donald-trump-says-jpmorgan-bank-of-america-rejected-him-as-a-customer-banks-discriminated-/articleshow/123124007.cms
[4] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/08/05/trump-banks-political-discrimination-executive-order/85524851007/
[5] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-says-big-banks-debanked-183430006.html