The Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on debanking in the U.S. have found an ally in a group that’s cracking down on what they see as corporate wokeness in both the U.S. and in Europe.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring federal banking regulators to remove “reputational risk” and similar concepts from their guidance and examination materials. The rule also requires financial institutions to reinstate clients and potential clients who were previously denied services due to debanking policies.
Previous standards around “reputational risk” prompted some financial institutions to debank clients, or cut off their access to financial services at those firms over concerns about regulatory compliance. That resulted in some political figures, including President Trump and British politician Nigel Farage, as well as companies in disfavored industries such as crypto, cannabis and firearms losing access to those services.
Against the backdrop of U.S. efforts to prevent debanking and trans-Atlantic talks between the Trump administration and its European counterparts on a host of economic and geopolitical issues, a U.S.-based group and its European partner are working to counter debanking and “woke” corporate policies on both sides of the Atlantic.
TRUMP MOVES TO PROTECT AMERICAN BANK ACCOUNTS FROM POLITICALLY BASED CLOSURES
Daniel Cameron, CEO of the 1792 Exchange and former Kentucky attorney general, told FOX Business that he helped lead state-level efforts to crack down on debanking and that access to financial services shouldn’t be cut off for ideological reasons.
“No consumer or business should be denied services based on political beliefs or religious views or because of some arbitrary social credit score derived from ideological agendas,” Cameron said.
‘WE STAND READY’: STATE FINANCE CHIEFS JOIN TRUMP TO END ‘DEBANKING’
Cameron’s 1792 Exchange has partnered with the France-based Observatoire du Wokisme in their joint effort to combat what they call “corporate ideological capture” in both the U.S. and France. The partnership features an arrangement in which the two groups share data and reports while also collaborating on initiatives to target corporate ideological bias.
“Woke Capitalism had its moment, but that moment is coming to an end, not only in the U.S., but worldwide,” Cameron said.
BANK CEOS DIMON AND MOYNIHAN DENY DEBANKING ACCUSATIONS, ADMIT ‘THINGS CAN BE FIXED’
Financial institutions in the U.S. that have faced accusations of politically-motivated debanking have pushed back on the allegations and expressed appreciation for the Trump administration’s executive actions on the subject.
“We don’t close accounts for political reasons, and we agree with President Trump that regulatory change is desperately needed,” a spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase told Fox News Digital. “We’re pleased to see the White House is addressing this issue, for which we’ve been advocating for many years, and look forward to working with them to get this right.”
“We welcome the Trump administration’s efforts to provide regulatory clarity to banks,” a spokesperson for Bank of America told Fox News Digital. “We’ve provided detailed proposals and will continue to work with the administration and Congress to improve the regulatory framework.”
Fox News Digital’s Preston Mizell contributed to this report.
Read the full article here
