President Donald Trump publicly criticized Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, accusing the financial giant of calling conservative supporters “banks.” “It was taken away from him,'' he said.
President Trump took Moynihan to task at Davos, a posh Alpine chatterbox for self-proclaimed global elites, over allegations that BofA wiped the accounts of Christian activist groups. This prompted protests from more than a dozen state attorneys general across the country.
“I would like to see banks start opening up their banks to conservatives,” the 47th commander-in-chief said via video link from Washington, D.C. “I hope that banks will start opening up their banks to conservatives, because a lot of conservatives are frustrated that banks don't allow them to operate inside their banks. Because I'm holding you,” he said. “They don’t accept conservative business.”
“And I don’t know if regulators mandated it because: [President Joe] Biden or something,” he added in response to a question from Moynihan about the latest executive orders and the U.S. economy. “I hope you open up the banks to conservatives, because what you’re doing is wrong.”
In response, Moynihan sidestepped Trump's claims and instead focused on his company's sponsorship of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The top lender, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, denied President Trump's claims of eliminating bank deposits in a statement.
“We serve more than 70 million customers, welcome conservatives, and have no political litmus test,” a Bank of America spokesperson said.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares I struck out last year. Bank of America is dealing with the cancellation of Christian service organizations' accounts.
He also criticized his refusal to do business with gun manufacturers, fossil fuel energy companies and companies with contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
BofA also came under fire from Republicans four years ago after it turned over consumer information to the FBI and Treasury Department as part of the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Even President Trump's youngest son, Barron, 18, suffered from allegations of bias at the hands of an anonymous U.S. lender who refused to open an account for Trump after the end of his first administration, according to a new memoir by first lady Melania Trump. It is said that it was.
Earlier in Davos week, Moynihan, 65, a lawyer and investment banker who has held the top job since 2010, praised the new Trump administration as “good for business.”
“When I talk to people here from all over the world, [in] For your business, that's where you should invest the most. Not a little at a time, but a lot,” he told FOX Business on Wednesday.
“Now you say you're going to roll back regulations and create even better conditions for investment.”
Mr. Moynihan also serves as chairman of the board of directors at Brown University, which was embroiled in scandal last year when the Ivy League school was rocked by pro-Hamas protests on campus.
Far-left student activists have called for Brown's endowment to sever ties with companies they say are “complicit in human rights abuses” against Palestinians.
The Brown Divest Coalition has reached an agreement with university leaders to hold a vote this October in exchange for an end to months of Israel-bashing demonstrations.
The agreement angered billionaire real estate mogul Barry Sternlicht, suspended donations to his alma mater, and prompted the resignation of one of the trustees, New York hedge fund executive Joseph Edelman.
The Braun trustees, led by Moynihan, ultimately rejected the proposed sale on October 10 of last year.
