Trump Sues JPMorgan for $5bn, Claims Political ‘Debanking’

Donald Trump has taken one of America’s biggest banks to court, suing JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon for $5bn over what he says was a politically motivated decision to cut him off from the financial system after he left office.

The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in Miami-Dade County court in Florida, alleges that JPMorgan abruptly closed multiple accounts linked to Trump and his businesses in February 2021, giving just 60 days’ notice and offering no explanation. According to the complaint, the move severed access to millions of dollars, disrupted business operations and forced Trump and his companies to scramble to open accounts elsewhere.

“JPMC debanked [Trump and his businesses] because it believed that the political tide at the moment favored doing so,” the lawsuit alleges.

JPMorgan rejects that framing outright. In a statement, the bank said it “regrets” that Trump has chosen to sue but insisted the closures had nothing to do with politics.

“We believe the suit has no merit,” a spokesperson said. “JPMC does not close accounts for political or religious reasons. We do close accounts because they create legal or regulatory risk for the company.”

The White House said it would refer the matter to the president’s outside counsel, distancing the administration from the legal fight.

The case lands amid an increasingly charged debate over so-called “debanking”, a term used by critics to describe banks cutting ties with customers deemed politically controversial or commercially risky. Conservatives have accused major lenders of adopting “woke” positions and discriminating against certain people and industries, from firearms to fossil fuels. Banks have consistently denied that politics drives their decisions.

Since returning to office, Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that banks refused to do business with him and other conservatives. Financial institutions say account closures are driven by compliance obligations, not ideology.

Regulators, however, have acknowledged the tension. A US banking regulator said last month that the country’s nine largest banks had, in the past, restricted services to certain controversial sectors, a practice often described as debanking. JPMorgan disclosed last year that it was cooperating with inquiries from government agencies and others reviewing its policies as the Trump administration stepped up scrutiny of banks’ conduct.

At the same time, regulators have begun pulling back from one of the tools banks say created confusion in the first place. Trump-aligned officials have moved to loosen oversight by abandoning supervision based on “reputational risk”, a vague standard that allowed regulators to pressure banks over activities that were legal but potentially embarrassing or litigious.

Banks argue that the reputational risk concept was subjective and left them vulnerable to second-guessing. They also say anti-money laundering rules often force institutions to shut down suspicious accounts without explaining why, a dynamic that can look political from the outside, even when it isn’t.