Overview

• The forthcoming executive order directs banking regulators to review customer terminations under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, antitrust statutes and consumer financial protection rules.
• Banks determined to have cut off clients for ideological or crypto-related reasons could face fines, consent decrees or referrals to the attorney general.
• Agencies must roll back policies tied to “Operation Chokepoint 2.0” and require the Small Business Administration to assess banks’ practices on government-backed loans.
• This measure builds on January’s order that removed hurdles for blockchain firms and follows agencies’ withdrawal of guidance that had discouraged crypto banking.
• Financial institutions have preemptively updated nondiscrimination policies and consulted Republican attorneys general to avoid potential enforcement actions.