Meets with Impacted Kentucky Coal and Firearm Industry Representatives

WASHINGTON-Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould today discussed finding of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's newly-released report on large banks' debanking activities during a press conference held in Lexington, Kentucky, with U.S. Congressman Andy Barr.

During the event, representatives of local Kentucky coal and firearms industries provided insights about the specific impacts of the debanking practices to their businesses.

Excerpts from Comptroller Gould's remarks are below. His full statement can be found here.

On Ensuring Fair Access to Financial Services for All Americans

The President directed federal banking regulators to examine whether financial institutions had denied Americans access to banking services because of their political or religious beliefs or lawful business activities. Thanks to his leadership as well as that of U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent, we are continuing to take steps to ensure that all Americans have fair access to the financial services they need to finance mortgages, fund small businesses, and support their families.

On Report Findings

We found that all of these banks had adopted reputation risk policies at various levels which allowed political considerations, public opinion, and social pressures to influence who banks deemed not worthy to access financial services. Americans were denied banking services because of their political or religious affiliations and entire industries faced scrutiny due to the fact that their lawful business activities were considered "controversial" by some banks or their employees. What began as decisions made by executives to debank disfavored industries became institutionalized and opaque bureaucracies that empowered bank employees to cut off industries and persons from financial services or created procedural frictions that achieved the same result as a practical matter.

On Specific Impacts to Coal and Firearms Industries

Our review found that many of the banks maintained policies restricting financing for new or expanded coal mining operations and coal-fired power plants. Some went even further, restricting financial services to companies based on how much of their revenue is derived from coal. These decisions were not based on financial risk; instead, banks cited concerns about negative headlines, public protests, and the perceived reputational consequences of supporting the industry.

We found similar practices affecting the firearms industry. Several banks restricted financing for firearms manufacturers and retailers. In one instance, a bank denied a firearms business assistance with an initial public offering because the company's policies governing lawful firearms sales did not align with the bank's own standards. Banks should not be denying customers for activities protected by the constitution of the United States.

We are not forcing these banks to serve every customer. Instead, banks should evaluate every customer on objective, risk-based criteria.

On OCC Continuing Efforts to Eliminate Debanking

At the OCC, we have eliminated reputation risk from our supervisory framework. As our report makes clear, there is more work to do to ensure that Americans are not denied financial services simply because of their beliefs or that their businesses have fallen out of favor.

Related Links

• Comptroller Remarks (PDF)
• News Release 2026-90: OCC Releases Report on Large Banks' Debanking Activities
• OCC Report, Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans (PDF)
• OCC Web Page, Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans