The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said a supervisory review found that the nine largest national banks it oversees maintained debanking policies that could restrict access to financial services based on political or religious beliefs or lawful business activities. The OCC released its findings on October 14, 2026, after reviewing bank practices covering 2020 through September 2025.

What the OCC found at nine large banks

The review covered JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank and BMO Bank. According to the OCC, broad “reputation risk” policies sometimes lacked clear standards and objective, risk-based criteria.

The agency said those policies could disadvantage customers because of political, religious or social views, or because they participated in lawful industries. The OCC’s conclusion reflects its supervisory findings; the release did not identify a penalty or allege that every individual account decision violated federal law.

Which banking policies drew scrutiny

The OCC said banks maintained public and nonpublic restrictions affecting sectors including oil and gas, coal, firearms, detention facilities, tobacco and e-cigarettes, and digital assets. The agency reviewed nearly 100,000 complaints and received roughly 50,000 documents totaling about 420,000 pages.

The report builds on a review announced in September 2025 and preliminary findings released in December 2025. It also follows the agency’s move to remove reputation risk from bank examinations and to increase attention to improper debanking in licensing and supervisory work.

The findings arrive as large-bank compliance remains under close scrutiny. Fusion Market News recently covered the Bank of America AML penalties, the Jefferies SEC settlement, and the SEC cross-trading proposal.

What could change next

Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said the agency is evaluating further changes to the regulatory and supervisory framework for the largest banks. The OCC also said its work on fair access and objective, risk-based banking decisions remains ongoing.

For banks, the practical issue is whether account-opening, monitoring and closure standards can be tied to documented legal, credit, fraud or compliance risks. For customers and investors, the next signals will come from formal rulemaking, supervisory guidance or enforcement actions rather than from the report alone.

Featured image: Christina @ wocintechchat.com / Unsplash.

Sharron Kendi is a seasoned crypto market analyst and writer with over three years of experience decoding blockchain trends, price movements, and market dynamics. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce (Finance) from Kenyatta University, blending a solid academic foundation with a sharp eye for technical analysis and a deep understanding of on-chain data. Her work delivers clear, data-driven insights that empower investors to navigate the fast-evolving digital asset space with confidence.