JPMorgan Chase acknowledged in a February 2026 court filing that it closed bank accounts of President Trump (R) and several of his businesses in February 2021, following the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. The bank's former chief administrative officer, Dan Wilkening, wrote in the filing that JPMorgan informed Trump that certain accounts maintained with the bank's private bank and commercial bank divisions would be closed. JPMorgan has never previously acknowledged that it closed Trump's accounts, citing bank privacy laws.
The acknowledgment came in response to Trump’s $5 billion lawsuit, which alleges JPMorgan terminated the relationship for political reasons and disrupted his business operations. The bank filed the document as part of its effort to move the case from Florida state court to federal court and to shift jurisdiction to New York, where the accounts were located.
The case centers on claims of political discrimination and debanking, a term used when a bank closes customer accounts or declines to provide financial services. Trump’s attorneys said the filing confirms their claim that JPMorgan unlawfully closed his accounts. JPMorgan said the lawsuit lacks merit.
Since President Trump returned to office, federal banking regulators have moved to limit the use of reputational risk as a basis for denying financial services. In his Aug. 7, 2025 executive order, Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans, Trump directed federal banking regulators to remove references to reputational risk from supervisory guidance and examination materials where it could result in politicized or unlawful debanking. The order also instructed regulators to consider rescinding or amending regulations that could allow such practices. The lawsuit may shape how courts evaluate banks’ discretion to terminate customer relationships under this new regulatory framework.
Debanking became a national issue during the Obama administration after U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), then-chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued a staff report in 2014 alleging that the Department of Justice's Operation Choke Point pressured banks to stop serving gun stores, payday lenders, and other lawful businesses.
Trump originally filed suit in the Florida 11th Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County, where his primary residence is located. He alleged trade libel and violations of state and federal unfair trade practices laws. JPMorgan has sought to move the case to federal court in New York.
Trump has also filed a separate lawsuit against Capital One in March 2025 alleging similar conduct.
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