“Trump's Order on Debanking Has Put Banks in an Impossible Position,” American Banker
Partner Laurel Loomis Rimon authored an article for American Banker arguing that current debanking reform efforts have overlooked a foundational tension: the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (BSA) compels banks to assess and act on customer risk whereas the Trump Administration's August 2025 executive order ignores this requirement. Banks are caught in a catch-22 in trying to meet BSA requirements and comply with the executive order.
The BSA's anti-money-laundering framework has long incentivized banks to err on the side of exclusion, in the same way they are influenced to file “defensive" suspicious activity reports.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's removal of "reputation risk" as a permissible factor, paired with its ongoing investigation of the nine largest supervised banks, leaves institutions caught between new administrative expectations and a well-entrenched regulatory regime that carries severe penalties — including potential executive incarceration — for compliance failures.
Laurel calls for clearer guidance distinguishing legitimate, BSA-based risk decisions from impermissible debanking, and suggests that safe harbors for good-faith determinations may be necessary before banks can be held to the new standard.
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© 2026 Jenner & Block LLP. Attorney Advertising. Jenner & Block LLP is an Illinois Limited Liability Partnership including professional corporations. This publication, presentation, or event is not intended to provide legal advice but to provide information on legal matters and/or firm news of interest to our clients and colleagues. Readers or attendees should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to matters mentioned in this publication or at this event. The attorney responsible for this communication is Brent E. Kidwell, Jenner & Block LLP, 353 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654-3456. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Jenner & Block London LLP, an affiliate of Jenner & Block LLP, is a limited liability partnership established under the laws of the State of Delaware, USA and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with SRA number 615729. Information regarding the data we collect and the rights you have over your data can be found in our Privacy Notice. For further inquiries, please contact dataprotection@jenner.com.
Partner Laurel Loomis Rimon authored an article for American Banker arguing that current debanking reform efforts have overlooked a foundational tension: the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (BSA) compels banks to assess and act on customer risk whereas the Trump Administration's August 2025 executive order ignores this requirement. Banks are caught in a catch-22 in trying to meet BSA requirements and comply with the executive order.
The BSA's anti-money-laundering framework has long incentivized banks to err on the side of exclusion, in the same way they are influenced to file “defensive" suspicious activity reports.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's removal of "reputation risk" as a permissible factor, paired with its ongoing investigation of the nine largest supervised banks, leaves institutions caught between new administrative expectations and a well-entrenched regulatory regime that carries severe penalties — including potential executive incarceration — for compliance failures.
Laurel calls for clearer guidance distinguishing legitimate, BSA-based risk decisions from impermissible debanking, and suggests that safe harbors for good-faith determinations may be necessary before banks can be held to the new standard.
Related Attorneys
Related Capabilities
Related Locations
© 2026 Jenner & Block LLP. Attorney Advertising. Jenner & Block LLP is an Illinois Limited Liability Partnership including professional corporations. This publication, presentation, or event is not intended to provide legal advice but to provide information on legal matters and/or firm news of interest to our clients and colleagues. Readers or attendees should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to matters mentioned in this publication or at this event. The attorney responsible for this communication is Brent E. Kidwell, Jenner & Block LLP, 353 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654-3456. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Jenner & Block London LLP, an affiliate of Jenner & Block LLP, is a limited liability partnership established under the laws of the State of Delaware, USA and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with SRA number 615729. Information regarding the data we collect and the rights you have over your data can be found in our Privacy Notice. For further inquiries, please contact dataprotection@jenner.com.
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