By Lananh Nguyen
(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday accused the CEOs of Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase of not providing banking services to conservatives.
Trump, who returned to the White House on Monday, made a habit of accusing companies like Boeing and Ford of wrongdoing during his first term while praising others that furthered his political aims. In a campaign speech last year, Trump cited right-wing complaints about the U.S. banking system.
Republican-led states have unleashed a policy push to punish Wall Street for taking stances on gun control, climate change, diversity and other social issues that have polarized the country.
“I hope you start opening your bank to conservatives, 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 said during an address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, via a video link.
“What you’re doing is wrong,” he said, without citing evidence or specifics of any wrongdoing, in a question-and-answer session with corporate leaders and CEOs assembled on stage.
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan did not address the claim in comments right after Trump spoke, but complimented him on the U.S. hosting the upcoming World Cup.
“We welcome conservatives and have no political litmus test,” a Bank of America spokesperson said in an email.
JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. lender, also said it has never and would never close an account for political reasons.
“We follow the law and guidance from our regulators and have long said there are problems with the current framework Washington must address,” it said.
“We welcome the opportunity to work with the new Administration and Congress on ways to remove regulatory ambiguity while maintaining our country’s ability to address financial crime,” a JPMorgan spokesperson said by email.
Big banks have said they face numerous regulatory requirements that their clients comply with laws, and ambiguity in those areas can lead to excessive caution.
Dimon said in an internal JPM podcast this week that banking regulations should be clearer about what is allowed or prohibited.
(Reporting by Lananh Nguyen, Caitlin Webber and Katharine Jackson; Additional reporting by Pete Schroeder; Writing by Susan Heavey and Saeed Azhar; Editing by Megan Davies, Chizu Nomiyama, David Gregorio and Richard Chang)
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