NEW YORK (AP) – JPMorgan Chase has for the first time officially confirmed that it closed the bank accounts of President Donald Trump and several of his businesses in response to the political and legal repercussions following the January 6, 2021 attacks on the U.S. Capitol, marking a significant development in an ongoing legal dispute regarding debanking. This acknowledgment was made in a court filing associated with Trump’s lawsuit against both the bank and its CEO, Jamie Dimon.
In the lawsuit, Trump seeks $5 billion, alleging that the closure of his accounts was motivated by political bias, significantly disrupting his business operations. “In February 2021, JPMorgan informed Plaintiffs that certain accounts maintained with JPMorgan’s CB and PB would be closed,” noted Dan Wilkening, JPMorgan’s former chief administrative officer, in the court documents. The terms “PB” and “CB” refer to JPMorgan's private banking and commercial banking divisions.
Prior to this acknowledgment, JPMorgan had consistently refrained from confirming in writing that it had closed the president's accounts post-January 6. The bank had previously limited its comments to hypothetical discussions regarding account closures and justifications, citing banking privacy laws. A bank spokeswoman did not provide further comments beyond what was stated in the legal documents.
Trump initiated the lawsuit in a Florida state court, where he currently resides. The recent filings are a strategic move by JPMorgan Chase to transfer the case from state to federal court and shift jurisdiction to New York, where the bank accounts were originally maintained and where much of Trump's business was operated until relatively recently.
In the original suit, Trump accused JPMorgan of trade libel and violating state and federal laws related to unfair and deceptive trade practices. He claimed to have attempted to communicate personally with Dimon regarding the bank's decision to close his accounts, with Dimon allegedly promising to investigate the matter further, a follow-up that Trump's lawsuit claims never materialized.
Additionally, Trump's legal team contends that JPMorgan placed the president and his associated businesses on a reputational "blacklist," which is reportedly utilized by the bank and others to prevent these clients from opening accounts elsewhere in the future. The precise nature of this blacklist has yet to be clarified by Trump’s attorneys. JPMorgan's lawyers responded to these claims by stating, “If and when Plaintiffs explain what they mean by this 'blacklist,' JPMorgan will respond accordingly.”
The bank has previously maintained that while it regrets Trump's decision to sue, the claims lack merit. Central to this case is the issue of debanking, which refers to the scenario where a bank terminates a customer’s accounts or declines to perform business with them, including loans or additional services. In recent years, debanking has transformed from a relatively niche financial issue into a politically charged topic, with conservative politicians asserting that banks have discriminated against them and their associated interests.
Trump's lawyers asserted, “In a devastating concession that proves President Trump’s entire claim, JPMorgan Chase admitted to unlawfully and intentionally de-banking President Trump, his family, and his businesses, causing overwhelming financial harm.” They emphasized that Trump is advocating for all individuals unjustly debanked by JPMorgan Chase and intends to pursue the matter to a fair resolution.
The debanking issue gained national prominence when conservatives accused the Obama administration of pressuring banks to cease doing business with certain industries, like gun retailers and payday lenders, under the initiative dubbed “Operation Choke Point.” Trump and other conservative leaders have indicated that banks have severed ties with them under the guise of “reputational risk” following the events of January 6, 2021. Recently, Trump's regulatory team has sought to curtail the use of reputational risk as a justification for denying banking services.
This lawsuit is not the first time Trump has taken legal action against a major bank over allegations of being debanked. In March 2025, the Trump Organization filed a lawsuit against credit card company Capital One for similar grievances, a case that remains unresolved.
