Winston’s Financial Services Industry Group is closely monitoring debanking regulations and advising global financial institutions on customer onboarding and due diligence.

In this alert, Jack Knight, Carl Fornaris, Patrick Doerr, and Arman Aboutorabi examine Senator Thom Tillis’s (R-NC) proposed Ensuring Fair Access to Banking Act. Although the bill is nominally designed to “limit the circumstances under which a Federal financial regulator may require a financial institution to terminate a specific account,” it in fact proposes much more.

Senator Thom Tillis’s discussion draft of the Ensuring Fair Access to Banking Act would create a single federal “fair access” standard prohibiting “debanking” except in defined circumstances, grant enforcement authority to federal and state regulators, and preempt state fair-access laws. These changes could impact account-opening, maintenance, and exit decisions and increase litigation exposure. Read the full alert for key implications, open questions, and practical steps institutions can take now.

The landscape of antitrust enforcement in the United States continues to undergo a significant transformation, as highlighted by recent remarks from leaders at both the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice.

In this alert, Winston’s Financial Services Industry Group examines recent developments in debanking, focusing on two new OCC bulletins that clarify regulatory expectations. While these bulletins provide new insight into how the OCC is addressing debanking under the current administration, they also leave several important questions unanswered.

The OCC’s first bulletin addresses how politicized or unlawful debanking will factor into licensing applications and Community Reinvestment Act evaluations, emphasizing the importance of fair access and treatment. The second bulletin reminds banks of their obligations under the Right to Financial Privacy Act, particularly in light of recent congressional scrutiny, and underscores the need to protect customer financial records unless disclosure is legally required.

What does this mean for you?