President Trump recently claimed that major banks are discriminating against his supporters, hinting at upcoming executive orders aimed at penalizing these institutions.
In a CNBC interview on Tuesday, he discussed his plans for a new executive order that would instruct bank regulators to look into possible breaches of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Antitrust Act, and the Consumer Financial Protection Act, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Trump shared a personal experience regarding his nearly 40-year relationship with JP Morgan Chase, mentioning how he left the bank after feeling sidelined.
“They… you don’t have the money and you’re defaulting, so you could see if they wanted to… do something bad. Take those people out,” Trump remarked. He explained, “I had hundreds of millions. I had loaded a lot of accounts with cash, loaded cash, and they told me, ‘Sorry, we can’t have you.’”
He claimed that Bank of America’s CEO Brian Moynihan was previously friendly during Trump’s presidency but has since distanced himself. Trump recounted a recent attempt to deposit over a billion dollars after taking office; he said Moynihan refused, saying, “We can’t do that.”
“I ended up going to small banks here and there. I mean, I had $10 million here, $10 million there… and I’m lucky,” Trump noted. He pointed out that during his presidency, the country experienced its largest economy in history, suggesting the current economic situation is in stark contrast.
Despite offering no evidence, Trump accused major banks of continuing long-standing Republican claims of discrimination against his supporters, criticizing actions taken by significant financial firms.
Back in January, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he also condemned large banks for what he viewed as discrimination against conservatives, a point that JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America refuted at that time.
During the Tuesday interview, Trump reiterated, without providing proof, that the Biden administration had allegedly told bank regulators to “destroy Trump.”
“They discriminate against a lot of conservatives… I think this word might be more about a Trump supporter than a conservative,” he remarked.
The Wall Street Journal reported that a draft of the executive order is ready for immediate signing this week. The document outlines fines and disciplinary actions for banks found violating the Anti-Discrimination Act, although it doesn’t explicitly name any institutions, it seems to hint at Bank of America as an example of those engaging in discrimination.
