Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
For years, gun companies have said major banks treated them like radioactive material, even when they operated completely legal businesses.
Now, a federal regulator says those complaints were not imaginary.
In its latest Minute Man Moment, Gun Owners of America highlighted a new Office of the Comptroller of the Currency report examining “debanking” at nine of the country’s largest national banks.
The bottom line?
The OCC found policies that could restrict banking access based on political beliefs, religious affiliations or involvement in lawful but controversial industries. Firearms manufacturers and retailers were specifically included.
Table of contents
What Is Debanking?
Debanking does not necessarily mean someone suddenly finds an empty checking account.
It can include a bank closing an account, denying a loan, refusing payment processing or declining to work with a business for reasons unrelated to its ability to pay.
For a gun shop or manufacturer, losing access to banking can make it nearly impossible to process sales, pay employees, finance inventory or expand operations.
GOA and other Second Amendment groups have warned about this problem for years. A 2025 GOA campaign accused major banks of using “values-based” standards to freeze lawful firearm businesses out of financial services.
Nine Major Banks Examined
The OCC reviewed the nine largest national banks under its supervision:
- JPMorgan Chase
- Bank of America
- Citibank
- Wells Fargo
- U.S. Bank
- Capital One
- PNC Bank
- TD Bank
- BMO Bank
Together, those institutions held approximately $12.7 trillion in assets as of September 2025. That represented about 76 percent of all assets supervised by the OCC.
The agency reviewed nearly 100,000 complaints and obtained roughly 50,000 documents containing approximately 420,000 pages.
According to the OCC’s findings, all nine banks maintained policies between 2020 and September 2025 that could encourage or influence decisions to deny financial services based on beliefs, affiliations or lawful business activities.
That does not necessarily mean all nine banks targeted firearm companies. The report says several banks restricted financing for firearm manufacturers or retailers.
Firearm Companies Made the List
The OCC found that some banks restricted services to companies selling firearms they labeled “assault-style” or “military-style.” Certain firearm accessories were also included in some policies.
Comptroller Jonathan Gould described one case in which a bank refused to assist a firearm company with an initial public offering. The company’s lawful firearm-sales policies reportedly did not align with the bank’s internal standards.
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That is the kind of line GOA has been drawing attention to. A bank can evaluate credit risk, fraud exposure and a customer’s ability to repay. The problem comes when a lawful gun business is denied service because executives dislike what it sells.
What Changes Now?
President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14331 in August 2025. It directed federal regulators to examine politically motivated debanking and remove vague “reputation risk” standards from their supervisory systems.
The OCC says it has since removed reputation risk from its supervisory framework. The agency is also improving its complaint process and considering a bank’s debanking record when reviewing major applications, including mergers and branch expansions.
This does not force banks to approve every customer or loan. Gould emphasized that banks may still reject customers based on legitimate, objective financial risks.
What they should not do is substitute politics for underwriting.
For the firearms industry, that is a meaningful distinction. A gun shop should face the same financial questions as any other lawful business, not a political loyalty test created in a corporate boardroom.
The report does not end debanking overnight. It does, however, place federal findings behind complaints the Second Amendment community has raised for years. And that gives gun businesses something they have not always had in this fight: receipts.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
Experience:
– Licensed Bowhunter, Hunter, and Trapper – Experienced in ethical hunting and wildlife conservation.
– Concealed Carry Permit Holder (NYS & AZ) – Trained and licensed to carry in multiple states.
– 2A Journalist – Covering firearms legislation, Second Amendment issues, and gun rights for over a decade.
– Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) – Certified to provide emergency medical care in the field.
– Field-Tested Gear Reviewer – Hands-on experience with firearms, optics, and hunting tech.