White House executive order to target bank bias against crypto firms: WSJ

The White House is reportedly planning an executive order to penalize banks that cut off customers, such as conservatives or crypto firms, over political concerns, The Wall Street Journal reported. A draft of the order, which could be signed this week, instructs regulators to investigate whether such actions violate credit, antitrust or consumer protection laws, with possible fines or other penalties. Meanwhile, banks say these decisions are driven by legal and compliance risks, including anti-money laundering rules, and point to past regulatory pressure as a reason for steering clear of certain industries. They had cited reputational risk as a justification for dropping clients, though under President Donald Trump, regulators said they would no longer evaluate banks on that basis.