Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould unveiled findings from the OCC's newly released report on large banks' debanking activities during a press conference in Lexington, Kentucky, on October 14, 2026, alongside U.S. Congressman Andy Barr.
The review found that all nine of the largest national banks adopted reputation risk policies that allowed political considerations, public opinion, and social pressures to influence decisions about who could access financial services. Gould said these practices became institutionalized and opaque, empowering employees to cut off industries and individuals or create procedural frictions that effectively denied services.
While the report highlighted impacts on coal and firearms businesses, the implications also extend to crypto firms, as financial institutions may restrict services based on reputational concerns rather than objective risk. Gould emphasized that banks should evaluate customers on objective, risk-based criteria, and the OCC has eliminated reputation risk from its supervisory framework. The review may push Congress toward legislative action to prevent politically motivated debanking and safeguard access for digital asset businesses.
