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ARTICLE · 15 JANUARY 2026

Federal And State Efforts Intensify Focus On 'Debanking'

Greenberg Traurig
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In 2025, debanking initiatives continued to intensify, with new guidance, legislation, and other actions at both the federal and state levels aimed at so-called "discriminatory debanking."

United StatesFinance and Banking
Marina Olman-Pal
Marina Olman-Pal
Paul Ferak
Paul Ferak
John Lukanski
John Lukanski
Tracy S. Combs
Tracy S. Combs
Jonathan Claydon
Jonathan Claydon
Shirin Afsous
Shirin Afsous

In 2025, debanking initiatives continued to intensify, with new guidance, legislation, and other actions at both the federal and state levels aimed at so-called "discriminatory debanking." Those actions included:

  • Federal and state policymakers advancing "fair access" initiatives aimed at preventing financial institutions from denying or restricting services based on certain factors, including political opinions, religious beliefs, and environmental, social, and governance standards.
  • The Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans Executive Order (the Executive Order) providing that federal banking regulators must eliminate "reputational risk" as a supervisory factor and requires such regulators to identify and remediate any "politicized or unlawful debanking" practices.

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