Switch to seedless. Get 30% off with SWITCH30 till Oct 21OCC finds major banks restrict crypto and legal sectors
6.7 Regulation The OCC found nine major U.S. banks restricted services to sectors like digital assets, oil and gas, and firearms, often without clear criteria. The full extent is unclear, and no penalties have been announced.
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has released a report showing that nine of the largest U.S. banks have maintained policies restricting access to financial services for certain clients, including those in the digital asset sector. The OCC’s investigation, which reviewed nearly 100,000 consumer complaints and 420,000 pages of internal documents from 2020 to September 2025, found that these banks relied on broad reputational risk rules without clear, objective criteria. This led to lawful industries such as digital assets, oil and gas, firearms, and tobacco facing denials or terminations of service. The report highlighted that digital asset issuers, exchanges, and administrators were often targeted, typically under the pretext of financial crime concerns, though no specific examples were provided. The OCC could not determine the full extent of debanking and has not announced penalties, but further regulatory changes are being considered. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has also launched formal investigations into these practices.
