What They Are Saying: Policy Experts Weigh in on the Push to End Government-Driven Debanking

Congress and federal agencies are continuing to work on implementing President Trump’s executive order from last month.

See what leading experts are saying about the latest developments and the need to permanently fix the broken policies that led to government-driven debanking. To ensure fair access to banking, experts are saying we must:

MODERNIZE OUTDATED REGULATIONS

Taylor Walker, Goldwater Institute: “To further protect Americans’ financial freedom, Congress should modernize anti–money laundering laws. These reforms should refocus enforcement efforts on true financial crime while safeguarding the innocent banking activity of law-abiding citizens.”

Glenn Hamer and Danny Seiden, President and CEO of the Texas Association of Business and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, respectively: “With the EO in place, now is the perfect opportunity to capitalize on the momentum and finally modernize broken or outdated policies like the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements and the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).”

Michael Lunsford, Executive Director of Citizens for a New Louisiana: “Lawmakers should take steps to update outdated practices such as anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer rules to better target real threats while reducing unnecessary burdens on banks and consumers alike. These reforms would restore fairness, strengthen oversight where it matters most and give Americans confidence that politics has no place in their wallets.”

Nicholas Anthony, Policy Analyst, Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, Cato Institute: “Regulators also maintain confidentiality over the information they share with financial institutions during examinations. In other words, financial institutions can be prohibited from discussing what regulators tell them about their own institutions. This treatment is backwards. Regulators should be bound by confidentiality while institutions should be free to use the information as they please.”

CODIFY INTO LAW REGULATORS’ REMOVAL OF REPUTATION RISK IN SUPERVISION

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC.): “[Travis Hill] has proven his commitment to fairness in our financial system, working towards removing reputational risk from bank supervision – essentially implementing my FIRM Act – to end debanking and ensure that banks cannot discriminate against federally legal businesses and law-abiding Americans. I look forward to continuing to work with him to strengthen our financial system, protect consumers, and ensure fairness, access, and accountability.”

Jill Homan, Deputy Director for Trade and Economy Policy, America First Policy Institute: “Congress should follow the president’s lead and end debanking once and for all. The Financial Integrity and Regulation Management Act would remove the subjective criteria of reputational risk. It awaits a full vote in the Senate and should be passed.”

ROOT OUT THE WEAPONIZATION OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM

Jonathan Gould, Comptroller of the Currency, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency: “Individuals may have been targeted and surveilled based on where they shop or what they believe in and, in some cases, unlawfully debanked. The OCC will not tolerate the misuse of customer financial records as a political tool. The OCC intends to work with other government agencies to ensure this conduct is identified and addressed.”

David Ibsen, AFFM Executive Director: “Americans are best supported by a financial system that serves customers, follows the law, is insulated from government weaponization for political purposes and ensures banks — not bureaucrats — are making business decisions.”

Eugene Ludwig, former Comptroller of the Currency and current Managing Partner of Canapi Ventures: “The OCC has the opportunity — and the responsibility — to act. By setting national standards that preempt conflicting state mandates and curb debanking efforts, the agency can safeguard the integrity of our financial system, reduce wasteful litigation, and restore clarity to banks and consumers alike.”