President Trump on Thursday raised a longstanding Republican complaint that he is discriminated against by big financial institutions, taking an unexpected attack on the big banks that supported his return to office.
The moment came almost as an afterthought as Mr. Trump was participating virtually in a question-and-answer session with executives gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The questioner, Bank of America CEO Brian T. Moynihan, asked a set of rote questions about the new administration's economic plans.
Mr. Trump concluded his nearly two-minute response:
“By the way, speaking of you, you’ve done a great job, but I hope you start opening up your banks to conservatives, because a lot of conservatives don’t want banks to do any internal transactions. Because they're complaining that they're not allowing it. It's a place called Bank of America,” Trump said.
He went on to cite JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon (who was not on stage), saying, “I think you and Jamie and all of you want your banks to be open to conservatives.'' Because what you're doing is wrong.”
Mr. Moynihan responded with a nervous laugh and changed the topic to next year's World Cup.
Bank of America spokesman Bill Haldin later said in a statement that the bank had never closed an account for political reasons, but “we must comply with extensive government rules and regulations and as a result… “In some cases, decisions were made to terminate relationships with customers.''
Trump's deviation from the topic is surprising at this point, as bankers were eager for a second term in office, hoping for an era of profit-making spurred by deregulation. It was. But the topic of political discrimination is well-trodden, and Trump raised it occasionally during the campaign.
Conservatives have complained for years about major financial institutions' diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that cut investment in fossil fuels and energy. He accused banks of closing or abolishing the accounts of religious groups.
These concerns are echoed by crypto advocates and prominent venture capitalists, who currently form a major bloc of support for Mr. Trump. These institutions were also the subject of a letter from Republican attorneys general to Bank of America last year, saying the institution was “responsible for some of the worst examples of banking transactions.” Bank of America responded with a letter denying the accusations.
Banking groups typically respond to complaints about demonetization by blaming regulations that require accounts that exhibit suspicious activity related to money laundering to be flagged and automatically closed. They point out that complaints about such closures come from customers large and small across political lines.
JPMorgan spokeswoman Patricia Wexler said the blame lies with “regulatory ambiguity.”
“We have followed the law and the guidance of our regulators and have long maintained that there are issues with the current framework that the U.S. government must address,” he said in a statement.
