Debanking, Fair Access, and Anti-Debanking: Emerging Federal and State Laws; New Compliance and Governance Strategies

This webinar will examine evolving federal and state anti-debanking and fair access efforts, Executive Order 14331, OCC and FTC enforcement, and related risks. The faculty will address the legal, regulatory, and reputational concerns that debanking measures create for financial institutions and share policy and governance recommendations to help mitigate risk. The panel will also discuss anticipated supervision, enforcement, and regulation, as well as how institutions can prepare.

Debanking occurs when banks and financial service providers restrict access to financial products and services for certain individuals, groups, or industries for reasons seemingly unrelated to individualized customer risk. Historically referred to as "de-risking," this practice involved declining or exiting customers based on "perceived risk" rather than individualized assessment. Federal law enforcement and supervisory efforts from prior administrations (such as Operation Chokepoint and "Operation Chokepoint 2.0") have been blamed for increased debanking. Today, cannabis businesses, money services providers, crypto exchanges, and politically sensitive organizations report that their banking relationships have been terminated with no explanation, and these charges have brought debanking into the legal and media spotlight.

In 2025, numerous federal and state anti-debanking initiatives advanced. These "fair access" measures generally prohibit denying or restricting banking services based on factors such as political opinions, religious beliefs, or ESG standards. In August 2025, the Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans EO 14331 barred "reputational risk" as a supervisory factor in debanking decisions and directed regulators to remedy "politicized or unlawful debanking" practices, including look-backs at past decisions. Federal agencies have issued guidance and enforcement directives following EO 14331. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is scrutinizing "debanking," sending letters to payment networks and financial services providers warning that deplatforming or denying customer access for political or religious beliefs may violate Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 USC § 45). These letters signal a sharpened FTC enforcement focus in the future. 

Congress introduced the Fair Access to Banking, Financial Integrity, and Regulation Management and Ensuring Fair Access to Bank Acts. Although not enacted, these have industry and trade group support. States, led by Florida, Tennessee, and Idaho, have enacted "fair access" laws prohibiting discriminatory debanking, with similar bills pending elsewhere. ADF model legislation has also shaped anti-debanking bills in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Georgia.

Financial institutions must understand how new guidance, EO 14331, federal and state legislation, and FTC scrutiny affect risk planning around debanking decisions. Banks must also balance these new compliance expectations with AML/CFT and BSA requirements, and honoring First Amendment rights. The faculty will examine these developments and outline compliance strategies and process changes to reduce legal, regulatory, and reputational risk from wrongful bank services termination and forecast anticipated debanking supervision and enforcement.

Listen as our authoritative panel outlines the federal and state framework governing debanking decisions, new regulatory and enforcement risks emerging for financial institutions deciding to terminate services, and how institutions can change their service agreements, account review processes and policies, as well as other best practices to mitigate enforcement and "fair access" litigation risk.