- President Donald Trump spoke virtually at the World Economic Forum on Thursday.
- During his speech, he accused banks like Bank of America of discriminating against conservatives.
- Bank of America responded, saying there was no “political litmus test.” JPMorgan Chase said it would “never close an account for political reasons.”
Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase denied President Donald Trump’s claim that the bank discriminated against conservatives.
In a virtual appearance Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump called out Bank of America and other banks, including JPMorgan Chase, for refusing to serve conservatives.
“A lot of conservatives complain that the banks aren’t letting them do business inside the bank, and that included a place called Bank of America,” Trump said without listing any specific cases of discrimination.
“You, Jamie and everybody, I hope you’ll open your banks to conservatives, because what you’re doing is wrong,” he said, referring to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
In a statement, Bank of America said it welcomes conservatives among its 70 million customers.
“We would never close accounts for political reasons and we would not have a political litmus test,” Bank of America wrote.
A JPMorgan spokesperson wrote in an email to Business Insider, “We have never and would never close an account for political reasons, period. We follow the law and guidance from our regulators and have long said there are issues with the framework current that Washington should address.”
Trump’s comment came after Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, asked how the Trump administration would prioritize growing GDP and reducing inflation among his dozens of executive orders.
Trump responded that his executive orders would do just that, while encouraging companies to move. He said he would work to lower the corporate tax rate to 15% from 21%, provided the companies make their products in the US.
Trump’s opposition comes as debate has intensified about debanking, or closing the accounts of people deemed to pose risks to the bank, such as money laundering or corruption. Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott is leading the organization’s efforts at an upcoming debanking session.
The debanking debate goes back to the Obama administration, during which so-called “Operation Choke Point” discouraged banks from engaging with lenders and arms dealers. In 2022, a banking regulator asked banks to stop “activity related to crypto assets”.
State attorneys general in 2024 alleged that major banks canceled the accounts of people with conservative views. Last April, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach accused Bank of America of canceling the accounts of gun manufacturers, Immigration and Customs Enforcement contractors and Christian ministry groups.
“Bank of America’s practice of freezing conservatives’ bank accounts and even releasing information about customers’ purchases to federal law enforcement agencies undermines free speech, religious freedom and the right to privacy,” Kobach said in the letter. “It is discriminatory and likely illegal. As state attorneys general, we will vigorously defend the constitutional rights of all Americans when they are threatened by big business.”
Bank of America responded at the time that de-banking accounts sometimes happens when they fail to verify certain documents or change the stated purpose of an account.
“We would like to provide clarity about a very straightforward matter: religious beliefs or beliefs based on political views are never a factor in any decision related to our customers’ accounts,” the bank wrote at the time.
Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen also said on Joe Rogan’s podcast that 30 tech and crypto founders have said their companies were disrupted by banking regulators during the Biden administration.
In JPMorgan Chase’s “The Unshakeables” podcast released Jan. 21, chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said of debanking, “There should be much cleaner lines about what we should and shouldn’t do.” He added: “We have to fix it.”