- The White House is preparing an executive order to penalize banks that close customer accounts based on political beliefs.
- Regulators will investigate violations of fair lending, antitrust, and consumer protection laws, with potential fines and legal consequences.
- The order also targets internal bank and SBA policies that might’ve led to politically biased decisions.
The White House is gearing up to drop an executive order that could seriously shake up how banks handle customer accounts. According to a scoop from The Wall Street Journal, this new directive would fine financial institutions for booting clients based on their political views—yeah, that’s the core of it.
Regulators Told to Investigate and Enforce
The draft reportedly tells federal bank regulators to look into whether any banks have stepped over legal lines—like the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, antitrust laws, or consumer protection rules. If any shady practices get uncovered, expect monetary penalties, legal agreements (think consent decrees), or some other kind of regulatory smackdown.
Fix the Policies, Not Just the Symptoms
But it’s not just about punishing banks after the fact. The order would also require regulators to identify and remove policies that may have encouraged this kind of selective account dropping in the first place. Basically, it’s asking: how did this even become a thing?
SBA Also Under the Microscope
The Small Business Administration (SBA) isn’t off the hook either. The order reportedly calls on the SBA to review banks that offer SBA-guaranteed loans. They want to make sure those banks are playing fair and not discriminating—intentionally or not—when deciding who gets to borrow and who doesn’t.
