The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's Oct. 14 findings identified historical banking restrictions affecting crypto businesses at institutions the agency supervises. The review covered policies between 2020 and September 2025 at the nine largest national banks under OCC supervision. The reviewed banks were JPMorgan Chase Bank, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo Bank, US Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank and BMO Bank. The OCC said the broader inquiry across customer sectors reviewed nearly 100,000 complaints. The OCC said the agency received about 50,000 documents totaling about 420,000 pages.
The OCC's official summary said many institutions restricted banking for digital asset issuers, exchanges or administrators, often citing financial crime considerations. Restrictions across the industries examined ranged from categorical prohibitions to additional reviews and approvals. The broad findings cover all nine banks, but the digital asset findings concern many institutions rather than all nine. Specific crypto policies and the grounds for individual refusals remain case-level questions.
BNY announced stablecoin services for institutional clients on June 29, 2026. BNY's services include holding USDC in custody and allowing clients to instruct Circle through BNY to mint USDC from dollars or redeem USDC for dollars. The arrangement links digital asset custody with the dollar side of stablecoin activity. BNY described availability for institutional clients, while eligibility for smaller crypto businesses and broader competitive effects remain unresolved.
Comptroller Jonathan Gould said in Oct. 14 remarks that banks should evaluate customers using objective, risk-based criteria. Gould's approach preserves banks' ability to decline individual customers on those grounds while challenging improper exclusion. The administration's August 2025 fair-banking executive order takes the same approach. The executive order disclaims any privately enforceable right or benefit created by the order and leaves existing statutory protections intact.
The OCC and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued their final reputation-risk rule on April 7, and the rule became effective June 9. The rule's prohibitions govern the agencies' supervisory conduct and pressure on banks over customer relationships. The rule defines reputation risk as public-perception concerns separate from a bank's financial or operational condition. The rule preserves Bank Secrecy Act enforcement authority. The rule's account-relationship provision exempts persons, entities or jurisdictions sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. The accompanying explanation explicitly prohibits supervisors from using anti-money laundering concerns as a pretext for reputation-risk supervision.
The OCC assessed a $750 million civil money penalty against Bank of America on Oct. 13 in a separate Bank Secrecy Act enforcement case. The OCC cited transaction-monitoring, reporting, expertise and training deficiencies. The Office of Foreign Assets Control's standing guidance gives US persons and others under the office's jurisdiction the same obligations for digital currency and traditional fiat-currency transactions. These policies preserve financial crime and operational-risk supervision while limiting judgments based on a business's unpopularity. The quality of a bank's risk justification remains central to distinguishing legitimate constraints from disapproval of a lawful business.
The OCC clarified in a September 2025 bulletin that the agency considers banks' debanking records and prevention policies case by case under relevant licensing factors. A bank seeking a licensing decision may face examination of the bank's record and procedures under those factors. Debanking may also affect Community Reinvestment Act ratings case by case, with treatment tailored to a bank's size, complexity and overall risk profile. Community Reinvestment Act consideration remains discretionary. The OCC updated online complaint reporting in September 2025 and said the agency uses complaints and other data to refine examinations. The OCC's Oct. 14 announcement cited complaint intake and licensing scrutiny among actions already taken.
The Bank Policy Institute supported fair access and clear, consistent standards while maintaining sound risk management. JPMorgan said the bank's policies prohibit political or religious discrimination. JPMorgan said the bank had corrected a WePay process that fell short of JPMorgan's standards. For new entrants, customer eligibility and a bank's objective assessment still determine access to services such as BNY's. The OCC said the agency is still considering further regulatory and supervisory changes. Progress will depend on broader eligibility producing actual access to banking functions, with financial, operational, anti-money laundering and sanctions requirements assessed on their merits.
OCC Finds 9 Major Banks Restricted Crypto Businesses, New Rules Aim to Curb Bias
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Summary
Citing FLASH AI, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) revealed on October 14 that nine major U.S. banks had imposed restrictions on crypto businesses between 2020 and September 2025. The banks included JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and others. The OCC reviewed nearly 100,000 complaints and found that many institutions limited services for digital asset firms, citing financial crime concerns. The agency emphasized that banks should use objective, risk-based criteria when evaluating customers. In a separate move, BNY announced stablecoin custody services for institutional clients on June 29, 2026. The OCC also finalized a reputation-risk rule in April 2026 to prevent misuse of anti-money laundering concerns in customer decisions. The new token listings and evolving cryptocurrency rules are now central to how banks approach digital asset customers.
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