By: Dylan Tokar – wsj.com – August 5, 2025

The president recounted his experiences when asked about an executive order the White House is preparing.

The White House is preparing an executive order that threatens fines for banks that deny services on political grounds, citing the experiences of conservative groups and crypto companies, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

In a CNBC interview Tuesday, Trump expounded on his own experiences with banks after his first term, saying he was denied accounts by JPMorgan Chaseand Bank of America and had to go from bank to bank trying to open accounts.

“The banks discriminated against me very badly. And I was very good to the banks,” Trump said after being asked about the draft order.

Trump’s history with banks goes back decades and has at times been rocky. Over the years, he has had multiple businesses file for bankruptcy and sued after trying to extend repayment on a loan of hundreds of millions of dollars.

After doing extensive business with Trump in the 1980s and 1990s, some Wall Street banks pulled back in part because of frustration with his business practices and because he moved away from real-estate projects that required financing, the Journal has reported.

In the interview on Tuesday, Trump said opening accounts was a new problem he faced with banks after leaving office in 2021. “I’ve never had anything like it,” he said. “It’s not like, gee, you defaulted on a loan.”

The remarks echo complaints by some conservatives who have accused banks of discriminating against them, a practice known more broadly as debanking.

Trump attacks Bank of America, JPMorgan

Just days after his inauguration in January, Trump gave voice to the issue when he confronted Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan on stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“I hope you start opening your bank to conservatives,” Trump said by video. “Because many conservatives complain that the banks are not allowing them to do business within the bank and that included a place called Bank of America.”

Trump also called out Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan, who wasn’t on stage with Moynihan but who was attending the conference.

Cryptocurrency businesses have also recently said that they were refused banking services during the Biden administration. Democrats, too, have cited their own examples of customers being denied services, including formerly incarcerated people.

Trump on Tuesday called out banks for specifically targeting his supporters.

A draft of the executive order viewed by the Journal accuses banks of helping authorities pursue participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Banks have said they were doing so lawfully under a program established by the Treasury Department.

The draft of the executive order, which hasn’t been signed, could be subject to revisions.

Banks deny closing accounts for political or religious reasons, saying closures have been driven by legal, reputational or financial risks—including those stemming from U.S. anti-money-laundering laws.

They have largely blamed regulators for creating the pressure to avoid such risks, though some have moved to withdraw policies that expose them to criticism of political or religious bias.

The president’s experiences

Trump said in the interview Tuesday he was dropped by JPMorgan after his first term as president.

“I was loaded up with cash and they told me, ‘I’m sorry, sir, we can’t have you, you have 20 days to get out,’” Trump said. “I was never in this situation before.”

A JPMorgan spokeswoman said the bank doesn’t close accounts for political reasons. “We agree with President Trump that regulatory change is desperately needed,” she said.

The president said he later called up Bank of America and suggested he spoke directly to the bank’s CEO, but was again denied. The bank has said it welcomes the administration’s efforts to provide regulatory clarity.

Trump said he ended up depositing his money at a series of smaller banks.

His remarks expand on allegations made by his businesses. The Trump Organization sued Capital One over the bank’s decision in 2021 to shut down hundreds of its corporate accounts.

Capital One said in a court filing that it only closes accounts for “legally and regulatorily permissible reasons.”

Trump on Tuesday acknowledged that banks were under regulatory pressures.

“The group they’re really afraid of is bank regulators,” he said.

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Source: Trump Says Banks Discriminate Against Conservatives—Including Him – WSJ