Bank of America is responding to demands regarding fair access to banking in the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order that will penalize banks for denying services to conservatives and crypto-industry supporters.

The financial institution said in its latest Securities and Exchange Commission 10-Q filing on Friday that it is responding to requests and examining its practices for providing, maintaining, or discontinuing financial products and services to specific clients or potential clients.

Bank of America declined to comment further on Tuesday.

Trump signed the “debanking” executive order Aug. 7, days after accusing Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase of rejecting his business following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Debanking refers to banks closing or restricting access to financial services for individuals or entities, often due to perceived reputational risk, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The executive order prohibits banks from considering reputational risk when making business decisions with potential fines, consent decrees, and other disciplinary actions for federal banking regulators who find evidence of politicized or unlawful debanking.

The order does not provide specific evidence of debanking but includes rhetoric from the political right suggesting that some financial institutions participated in government-directed surveillance programs targeting individuals and industries after the Capitol riot.

Trump’s beef with Bank of America

Trump claimed Bank of America discriminated against him based on his political alignment, stating the bank told him he had 20 days to close his accounts after his first term, when he had "a billion plus" to deposit.

The bank denied Trump’s accusations, stating that political beliefs are not a factor in account closure decisions. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, in an interview on CNBC, responded to Trump's comments by saying, "We bank everybody." JPMorgan Chase also refuted the claims.

Terms of Trump’s debanking executive order

The U.S. Small Business Administration is mandated to require financial institutions to make reasonable efforts to reinstate clients previously denied services due to unlawful debanking.

The treasury secretary must develop a comprehensive strategy to combat politicized or unlawful debanking, including exploring legislative or regulatory solutions.

Federal banking regulators are required to review supervisory and complaint data for instances of unlawful debanking based on religion, and refer such cases to the attorney general.

Federal banking regulators also must remove “reputational risk and other equivalent concepts” from their guidance, examination manuals and other materials.

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