Big bank CEOs to meet with lawmakers on solutions to debanking

The CEOs of several of America’s largest banks are set to meet Thursday on Capitol Hill with a group of senators in a roundtable on debanking issues in the wake of last week’s hearing on the subject.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, Capital One CEO Richard Fairbank, Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf, U.S. Bank CEO Andrew Cecere, PNC CEO Bill Demchak and Truist CEO Bill Rogers are expected to attend the roundtable.

The meeting follows a pair of congressional hearings on debanking last week, which refers to the process by which banks close customers’ accounts, often in response to regulatory compliance concerns. 

Businesses and individuals involved with the cryptocurrency and digital assets industry have faced debanking, as have cannabis businesses in states where marijuana is legal. Regulatory guidelines related to reputational risks have also led to debanking incidents involving the firearms industry and other conservative-aligned entities.

SENATE BANKING PANEL HEARS DEBANKING TESTIMONY: ‘EXTREMELY DISRUPTIVE’

Senators are set to meet with leading bank CEOs to discuss solutions to debanking issues. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)

President Donald Trump highlighted the issue of politically-motivated debanking in remarks to the World Economic Forum last month, where he publicly accused Bank of America of debanking conservatives while Moynihan was helping moderate a question-and-answer session with the president.

Moynihan spoke to FOX Business on his way into Thursday’s meeting and was asked about Trump’s allegations. He responded, “We bank everyone, thank you.”

Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and other banks have denied cutting off banking access to clients over political concerns.

TRUMP CONFRONTS BANK OF AMERICA CEO FOR NOT TAKING ‘CONSERVATIVE BUSINESS’

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan denied allegations the bank discriminates based on political views. (Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Dimon called for more clarity about debanking in an appearance last month on the bank’s “Unshakeables” podcast.

“I think we should be allowed to tell you. … When we report stuff, the federal government should probably know about it, and there should be far cleaner lines about what we have to do and what we don’t have to do,” Dimon said. “We’ve been complaining about this for years. We need to fix it.”

MAJOR BANK CEO SAYS TRUMP’S FISCAL POLICIES MAKE US ‘THE NO.1 PLACE TO INVEST’ AGAIN

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has called for reforms to banking rules for more clarity around debanking decisions. (Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Senators from both sides of the aisle acknowledged the need for a solution to debanking issues at last week’s Senate Banking Committee hearing, with Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., saying they want to work on a bipartisan fix.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., previewed today’s meeting on FOX Business Network’s “The Bottom Line” on Wednesday, saying he’s “anxious to hear from all of them.” Cramer noted that he introduced legislation called the Fair Access to Banking Act which would look to address issues related to debanking and has 41 cosponsors in the Senate.

“I don’t want to require them to do certain things, but I want to prohibit them from being able to categorically discriminate against entire industries, whether it’s the oil and gas industry or the private industry, the munitions and firearm industry or the crypto industry or any number of industries that are legal and even constitutionally protected,” Cramer said.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

The big bank roundtable was first reported by Politico and has been confirmed by FOX Business.

FOX Business’ Chase Williams contributed to this report