On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced his intent to take sweeping action against financial institutions that discriminate against conservatives by debanking them.
The issue stems from longstanding accusations that financial institutions have ‘debanked’ conservative politicians and activists. Some have accused financial institutions of acting at the direction of President Joe Biden and other Democratic politicians.
Executive action taken by Trump could reportedly include fines decrees against banks that have discriminated against conservatives, and could include an investigation into past discriminatory actions.
President Trump has repeatedly accused financial institutions of discriminating against him, including the Bank of America. (RELATED: Statehouse Democrats Pitch Limits on Legislative Legal Bills)
“Banks discriminated against me very badly. And I was very good to the banks. I had the greatest economy in the history of our country when I was president,” he said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Some conservatives, such as former director of the National Economic Council and Fox Business host Larry Kudlow, have accused banks of discriminating against conservatives at the direction of government regulators.
“Now the banks will tell you — and I’ve talked to all the senior people there — that the regulators forced them because of Jan. 6, because of criminal charges made against him in 2022,” Kudlow said Tuesday during an appearance on Fox. “They threatened fines, the regulators threatened criminal proceedings against the banks.”
In addition to current penalties being weighed, regulators will also reportedly investigate if antitrust or consumer protection laws have been violated. (RELATED: Tariff Revenues Skyrocket as Europe and US Close Trade Deal)
President Trump’s efforts have been augmented by the Senate Banking Committee, who held a hearing in February to investigate claims of political discrimination.
Financial institutions have defended their practices by claiming that some people may have been debanked due to money laundering laws or reputational risks. “We should get these rules right,” Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said on Tuesday during a CNBC interview.