By Ross Kerber
(Reuters) -Less than one percent of customers who filed detailed complaints about checking or savings account closures with the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over the last 13 years accused banks of acting for political or religious reasons, even as the White House mounts a campaign to stamp out “systemic abuses” in the financial system that it says have wronged conservatives, a review of the agency’s data shows.
U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month signed an executive order requiring banks not to discriminate against clients on political or religious grounds, a practice known as debanking, after citing what Trump called discrimination against conservatives. The White House said the order was targeting “systemic abuses by financial institutions that undermine free expression and economic opportunity.”
But few customers who have been denied access to banking products cite their political affiliation as a chief concern. Out of the 8,361 detailed complaints about closed bank accounts filed with the CFPB since the agency began taking them in 2012, only 35 include the terms “politics,” “religion,” “conservative” or “Christian,” a review by Reuters shows.
“It’s not a real issue. ‘Debanking’ is an excuse for political attacks,” said Amanda Jackson, a director for Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of progressive-leaning groups.
The group and others say a bigger problem is making sure U.S. banks provide services to poorer consumers. Financial institutions have tried to balance fair access with steps to combat a wave of fraud, and say they have not cut customers over their political views.
Rachel Cauley, communications director for the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, whose leader Russell Vought is also CFPB’s acting director, did not directly address questions about the small number of complaints. She repeated claims that members of the Trump family and others have been cut off from banking services on the basis of political or religious beliefs.
The actions, Cauley said, amount to “an Orwellian censorship tactic that is antithetical to the American way of life. The Trump Administration believes access to the financial system is a fundamental right for all Americans.”
The CFPB data does not identify filers. While none of the 35 complaints provided proof that their accounts were closed for political or religious reasons, filers said they suspected that was the case.
“I believe this is discriminatory actions based on race, religion and/or political views,” according to a 2023 complaint filed against JPMorgan over account closures.
A JPMorgan representative, Lauren Bianchi, said via email that “We do not close accounts for political or religious reasons, full stop.” The bank supports a national prohibition on account closures for political or religious reasons, and for regulators to allow more transparency in those cases, she said.
Brian Knight, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which calls itself a Christian law firm and is supportive of Trump’s executive order, said the small number of complaints citing politics or religion could reflect that banks are not required to disclose much detail to consumers they drop.
“There’s no information-sharing mechanisms” short of litigation to force banks to be more open about their thinking, Knight said.
(Reporting by Ross Kerber; Editing by Dawn Kopecki and Andrea Ricci)
