OCC Report Identified Bank Service Restrictions
A federal review found major banks limiting services for digital assets, citing financial crime and reputational risks.
Updated on Oct. 14, 2026 in Financial Services
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The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released a report examining banking service restrictions for specific industries. The review, which covered nine major banks, identified digital assets among sectors facing limited access to financial services.
Why it matters
The report was commissioned to comply with an August 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump aimed at investigating and preventing unlawful debanking. It highlights how financial institutions use internal policies to mitigate risks related to financial crime and corporate reputation.
The OCC review analyzed the practices of nine major banking institutions. This follows reports from more than 30 tech and crypto executives who claimed they were denied banking access as of November 2024.
The players
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
This federal agency charters, regulates, and supervises all national banks and federal savings associations in the United States.
President Donald Trump
He is the current President of the United States who signed the executive order requiring this regulatory review.
The details
Banks reportedly employ both public and nonpublic policies to restrict services for various sectors, including digital assets, oil, gas, tobacco, and firearms. Despite these restrictions, the agency noted that it lacked the data to fully quantify the prevalence of these actions across the financial system.
Timeline
More than 30 executives reported banking service denials in November 2024.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order regarding debanking in August 2025.
The OCC released its report on debanking on October 14, 2026.
Market Landscape
This regulatory scrutiny follows the executive order on debanking that mandated a formal review of financial service access. The findings reflect ongoing tension between banking compliance requirements and the growth of emerging sectors like digital assets.
Customers in sectors like digital assets or energy may continue to face difficulty securing consistent banking services due to institutional risk policies. This report confirms that banks maintain the authority to limit access based on their own internal financial crime and reputational assessments.
The takeaway
Regulators are currently prioritizing transparency regarding how major banks restrict service access to various industries. Businesses operating in sensitive sectors should remain aware that internal bank risk policies remain a significant barrier to traditional financial services.
Further reading
For more context on how regulations affect the sector, visit Financial Services.
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Should banks be allowed to deny services to legal businesses based on non-financial reputational concerns?
