Financial giant JPMorgan Chase has found itself on a long list of organizations that are being sued by President Donald Trump.
The lawsuit, filed on Jan. 22 in a Florida state court, alleges the bank debanked him and his affiliated business entities by closing accounts in 2021 for politically motivated reasons, according to a report by Reuters (1).
The firm was quick to respond, stating, in part, “we believe the suit has no merit … Our company does not close accounts for political or religious reasons” (2).
Although the brief press release published on JPMorgan’s website doesn’t elaborate on exactly why this working relationship was suspended, it does drop what may be a hint: “We do close accounts because they create legal or regulatory risk for the company.”
The framing could indicate that legal risk, rather than a political agenda, was the driving force behind the bank’s action. It also highlights how tightly regulated the financial services sector is and why freezing or suspending bank accounts is fairly common, even for ordinary customers.
Trump’s entanglement with legal challenges dates back decades. In fact, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Trump and his father for racial discrimination in 1973 (3). Since then, the now-politician has faced and filed hundreds of lawsuits, many of which are currently active. As of February, 2026, the Trump administration faces 228 active legal cases, according to Lawfare’s live tracker (4).
It’s perhaps easy to see why Trump would be considered a high-risk customer for a notoriously risk-averse industry.
Banks operate in a highly regulated environment where anti-money laundering (AML), know your customer (KYC) and customer due diligence (CDD) rules are among those that are core to compliance.
Financial institutions could face sanctions, fines or legal liability for failing to comply with these regulations, which creates “incentives for banks to file millions of Suspicious Activity Reports and, in some cases, designate customers as ‘high risk’ even if their actual likelihood of criminal activity is low,” according to the Bank Policy Institute (5).
Banks can also often be legally prohibited from disclosing the reasons for account closure to the customer, notes the BPI.
Simply put, closing a suspicious bank account without clarification is not only legal, but in some cases legally required. In fact, this could impact you, even if you’re a law-abiding customer.
High-profile, multibillion-dollar cases grab headlines, but account closures can happen to anyone.
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Even legal transactions can raise red flags. For instance, most banks won’t provide services to cannabis-related businesses although medical cannabis has been legalized in 47 states, according to the American Bankers Association (6). Crypto or large cash transactions could also raise red flags, according to the ABA Banking Journal (7).
Fraud victims could also see their accounts frozen because of suspicious activity (8).
To avoid sudden account closures, it’s important to keep a close eye on your account to detect and report any suspicious activity right away.
Keep all your details updated and make sure you’re not missing any repayments or pending charges.
If you’re traveling abroad and plan on making big transactions in a foreign currency, give your bank a heads up before you leave.
If you’re worried about getting frozen out, consider keeping some cash on hand for emergency needs. You could also open bank accounts at multiple institutions to avoid disruptions if any one is frozen temporarily.
If your account has been suspended, reach out to the bank to see if they can offer any details. Submitting additional details, paper or identity proof could help you resolve the case and get your account back swiftly.
If you suspect that your account has been improperly restricted or that your bank is delaying its investigation without adequate explanation, you have the right to escalate the matter by submitting a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which can require the institution to respond (9).
The Trump administration’s attempts to defund the CFPB were blocked by a federal district court judge last year (10), so the watchdog continues its work to protect those with legitimate concerns.
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We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Reuters (1); JPMorgan Chase (2); The Associated Press (3); Lawfare (4); Bank Policy Institute (5); American Bankers Association (6); ABA Banking Journal (7); National Debt Relief (8); Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (9); NPR (10)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
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