TD, BMO among nine banks named in U.S. banking discrimination report

A U.S. banking regulator has identified Bank of Montreal and TD Bank, along with seven other lenders, in a report about debanking and limiting access to financial services for certain U.S. customers due to their political beliefs.       

The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released a report based on findings from a supervisory review of debanking activities at nine of the largest banks it oversees, based on 100,000 complaints at OCC-regulated institutions and hundreds of individual bank decisions. The regulator said its review period spanned 2020 to September 2025.

“Today’s report provides irrefutable evidence that the nation’s largest banks have denied, debanked and discriminated against customers and lawful businesses,” Jonathan Gould, the comptroller of the currency, said in a news release.   

“Americans should have access to financial services regardless of their beliefs, affiliations, or political views.

The other major lenders named in the report are JPMorgan Chase Bank, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One and PNC Bank. 

The OCC says its review was conducted after an executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump, signed in August of last year, stipulating that Americans should not be denied access to financial services due to religious or political beliefs.

Trump ordered federal bank regulators to determine whether any banks had discriminated and refer any cases to the Department of Justice.

The OCC said in its report that broad reputational risk policies, which it said lacked clear standards, disadvantaged certain Americans on the basis of political, religious, or social views or based on their lawful business activities.

“Despite attempts to impose internal rigor, the continued use of reputation risk not only distracts institutions from devoting resources to managing core financial risks but also provides a structure for them to refuse clients based on even the slightest public perception risk or potential stakeholder biases in contravention of the foundational principle of fair access,” the report said. 

Reputational risks emerge when the historic views of certain industries prompt banks to be more careful about banking and lending, it said.

The report cites examples from multiple lenders and for different reasons. In one example, a payment processor owned by one bank closed the account of a merchant that sold merchandise promoting Trump and the Make America Great Again brand. In another, a different bank declined services to a public education organization because the political arm of the organization solely endorsed Democrats. 

The lack of clear standards for assessing reputational risks was one of several key observations in the report.

It also said banks maintained “public and nonpublic policies” that restricted access to financial services of certain industries like oil and gas, coal mining, firearms and tobacco. The OCC said those policies included requiring escalated reviews and approvals before providing access to financial services. 

TD did not respond to a request for comment, while BMO referred The Canadian Press to a statement from the Bank Policy Institute.

The institute, a U.S. industry advocacy group, said that it supports fair access to banking services and has been “working to ensure that government regulations and policies enable banks to serve law-abiding customers.

“We support efforts to establish clear and consistent standards that promote access while maintaining sound risk management, including the administration’s recent efforts to prioritize supervisory attention on material financial risk rather than reputational risk,” the statement reads. 

The regulator said it is considering action to prevent lenders from engaging in discriminatory practices. 

“The OCC will be assessing further changes to the regulatory and supervisory framework applicable to the largest banks to reduce the likelihood of these harmful practices recurring in the future,” Gould said in the release. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2026.     

— With files from The Associated Press

Companies in this story: (TSX: TD, TSX: BMO)