A U.S. banking regulator’s report has flagged the Bank of Montreal and TD Bank alongside seven other financial institutions accused of restricting financial services to certain American customers because of their conservative political or religious beliefs.
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has published a report based on its findings during a supervisory review of debanking practices across nine major banks under its jurisdiction, based on 100,000 complaints at institutions it regulates. Debanking is when a bank or financial institution suddenly closes a customer’s bank accounts or refuses to provide financial services.
Joining the two largest Canadian banks on the OCC’s list were JPMorgan Chase & Co.—the world’s largest banking institution—plus Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., U.S. Bancorp, Capital One Financial Corp., and PNC Financial Services Group Inc….