Justin Haskins writes for the Federalist about a significant Trump administration action.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will finally put an end to banks’ discrimination against conservatives, Christian groups, and other organizations.
The order requires that federal banking regulators eliminate references to reputational risk and similar concepts in their guidance and examination procedures. Additionally, it directs the Small Business Administration to compel financial institutions to take steps to restore access to services for current or prospective clients who were previously denied services due to an illegal debanking policy.
The Trump administration has said previously that under the Biden administration, regulators used reputational risk to coerce banks to take aggressive actions against disfavored businesses and conservative organizations.
Regulators will also examine whether financial institutions have implemented politically driven debanking policies, and, if so, pursue appropriate enforcement steps, including financial penalties.
The executive order further directs federal banking agencies to analyze supervisory records and consumer complaint data to uncover any unlawful denial of financial services tied to religious affiliation. When such violations are identified, they must be referred to the attorney general for further action.
Most importantly, Trump’s order requires the Treasury Department to craft a plan to permanently stop debanking practices. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will be responsible for outlining potential legislative proposals and regulatory reforms aimed at preventing this form of discrimination in the future.
Although more regulations will still need to be issued by the White House, what we have seen so far suggests Trump’s order is a gigantic victory for liberty.
Under previous administrations, banks were allowed to discriminate against many nonprofit groups, lawful businesses, and even individuals they did not like, making it difficult for those organizations and people to survive. In many cases, banks were pressured by large investors, activist groups, and political leaders to use their financial might to shove America further to the left.
