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n the wake of President Donald Trump's executive order outlawing debanking, major bank executives told Fox News Digital that they were under pressure by the Obama and Biden administrations to deny services to individuals and businesses for political reasons.
"Those pressures were very, very real. When your regulator gives you a suggestion, it’s not a suggestion, it’s an order. The political stuff is very real, those pressures are real," a senior banking executive told Fox News Digital.
Debanking refers to the practice of banks closing accounts or denying services to individuals or businesses, often with no explanation. The practice originated as part of federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations. An entity can be debanked after its transactions are marked suspicious, but in recent years, conservative and religious groups have accused banks of discriminating against them for their beliefs.
Fox News Digital spoke with two executives at leading U.S. banks, who asked to remain anonymous, fearing reprisals.
The executives said that ambiguity in federal laws was exploited by regulators under the Obama and Biden administrations in order to pursue political objectives. According to one executive, banks were pressured to deny services to certain industries as part of Operation Choke Point and Operation Choke Point 2.0.
"When there’s ambiguity in the law, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and for a long time the beholder was the Obama and Biden administration," the official said.
A House Oversight Committee report found that "Operation Choke Point," a DOJ task force whose aim was to "choke out" legal companies disfavored by the Obama administration, worked with bank regulators to label certain industries, including firearms sales, as "high risk."
Trump ended "Operation Choke Point" in 2017 during his first term. However, a House Financial Services Committee hearing last week heard accusations that former President Joe Biden had rebooted the initiative and targeted crypto firms for debanking as part of "Operation Choke Point 2.0."
Trump claimed to be a victim of debanking, and accused JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and others of refusing more than $1 billion in his deposits. First lady Melania Trump wrote in her memoir that she and her son Barron were debanked, as well.
"I was shocked and dismayed to learn that my long‑time bank decided to terminate my account and deny my son the opportunity to open a new one.… This decision appeared to be rooted in political discrimination, raising serious concerns about civil rights violations," Melania wrote.
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"Those pressures were very, very real. When your regulator gives you a suggestion, it’s not a suggestion, it’s an order. The political stuff is very real, those pressures are real," a senior banking executive told Fox News Digital.
Debanking refers to the practice of banks closing accounts or denying services to individuals or businesses, often with no explanation. The practice originated as part of federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations. An entity can be debanked after its transactions are marked suspicious, but in recent years, conservative and religious groups have accused banks of discriminating against them for their beliefs.
Fox News Digital spoke with two executives at leading U.S. banks, who asked to remain anonymous, fearing reprisals.
The executives said that ambiguity in federal laws was exploited by regulators under the Obama and Biden administrations in order to pursue political objectives. According to one executive, banks were pressured to deny services to certain industries as part of Operation Choke Point and Operation Choke Point 2.0.
"When there’s ambiguity in the law, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and for a long time the beholder was the Obama and Biden administration," the official said.
A House Oversight Committee report found that "Operation Choke Point," a DOJ task force whose aim was to "choke out" legal companies disfavored by the Obama administration, worked with bank regulators to label certain industries, including firearms sales, as "high risk."
Trump ended "Operation Choke Point" in 2017 during his first term. However, a House Financial Services Committee hearing last week heard accusations that former President Joe Biden had rebooted the initiative and targeted crypto firms for debanking as part of "Operation Choke Point 2.0."
Trump claimed to be a victim of debanking, and accused JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and others of refusing more than $1 billion in his deposits. First lady Melania Trump wrote in her memoir that she and her son Barron were debanked, as well.
"I was shocked and dismayed to learn that my long‑time bank decided to terminate my account and deny my son the opportunity to open a new one.… This decision appeared to be rooted in political discrimination, raising serious concerns about civil rights violations," Melania wrote.
Bank executives blow the whistle on how Obama, Biden admins pressured them to debank conservatives
President Trump issued an executive order that bans debanking, as bank officials revealed regulatory pressure to close accounts of conservatives under previous administrations.
