[PJMedia] Nine of the country's biggest banks spent five years running an outrageous campaign to cut conservatives, Christians, pro-lifers, and Trump supporters out of the financial system, and the federal government now has the receipts.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released its Debanking Review on Wednesday. Miranda Devine first broke the story in the New York Post. The 47-page report, titled "Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans," draws on a hundred thousand complaints and fifty thousand internal bank records from 2020 through 2025. It names JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC, TD Bank, and BMO Bank.
Every one of them hid behind the same excuse: "reputation risk."
The 47-page report, titled "Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans," draws on a hundred thousand complaints and fifty thousand internal bank records from 2020 through 2025. It names JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC, TD Bank, and BMO Bank.
What did these banks fear? Bad press, protests, attacks from activist outfits like the Southern Poverty Law Center, and retaliation from regulators and politicians. So they purged anyone who might draw that heat. Christian organizations lost service over their views on child sacrifice abortion, LGBT issues, and traditional family values. Gun makers and retailers, Arctic oil and gas, coal, detention facilities, tobacco, and e-cigarette companies all saw financing dry up.
Let’s start with JPMorgan Chase.
Its payment arm, WePay, shut down a merchant selling Trump and MAGA gear, claiming the products "promote[d] hate, violence, or racial intolerance." JPMorgan's screening system routinely flagged "MAGA," "Make America Great," and "America First" in merchant profiles, websites, and transaction data, and the bank added several of those terms after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. WePay also dumped a seller of "conservative/republican t-shirts, hats, etc." after spotting a "Biden-Illegitimate-Tshirt," a "The-Big-Lie-Sticker," and a "Trump-Won" flag.
Another merchant lost payment processing because an event organizer's social media posts called Black Lives Matter "Marxists" and labeled Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. We get to suffer the consequences... and Anthony Fauci "the enemy." Bank employees ruled those posts "an incitement of hate."
Think about that for a second: Garden-variety political opinions were enough to get an American cut off.
The banks leaned on the SPLC’s bogus hate-group designations again and again. That's the same SPLC federal prosecutors indicted in April on fraud and money-laundering charges for allegedly bilking donors out of millions, and the same group FBI Director Kash Patel has called a "partisan smear machine." WePay closed a religious organization's account after the SPLC branded it an "extremist hate group," and employees described it internally as a "[r]ight wing religious conservative non profit with strong anti LGBTQ rhetoric." WePay also killed an account raising money for a "devout Christian's" legal challenge to anti-discrimination laws.
Let’s continue, shall we?
PNC turned down a line of credit for a successful media company after its ESG group noted that one owner's foundation funded Christian conservative groups the SPLC had tagged as hate groups, and that another owner was "a conservative political commentator." The employee who recommended the denial put it in an internal note.
"I think it becomes really difficult to justify aligning ourselves with a company whose owners have built very public personas around opinions very contrary to PNC's beliefs/values," the employee wrote.
Wells Fargo pressured a payment processor to drop a religious nonprofit over its views on same-sex marriage, and it refused loans to two firearms businesses because — get this — employees feared blowback from the Biden administration, anti-gun activists, and members of Congress.
"Under the Biden administration, banks could face greater supervisory pressure to move away from lending to the firearms industry," a Wells Fargo reputation-risk review of a prospective firearms client warned.
Bank of America cut off private prison businesses, citing "changing policymaker attitudes." A few months into the Trump administration, it tried to reopen one of those accounts. So much for principle.
To be fair, the report found that some banks also turned away groups on the left. Capital One refused any partisan entity backing candidates from only one party, which meant rejecting both a "reproductive rights" group and a gun-rights group. Yet the overwhelming weight of the evidence points in one direction.
All nine banks told the OCC they've revised their practices. The OCC says those reforms fall short and that no bank has "fully and publicly acknowledged" its "weaponization of finance against hardworking Americans." JPMorgan, for its part, pinned the blame on WePay and claims the problem is now fixed.
"Today's report provides irrefutable evidence that the nation's largest banks have denied, debanked and discriminated against customers and lawful businesses," Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould said, adding that the OCC is weighing further action.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has primary supervisory authority over the largest banks, opened its own investigation Wednesday.
"It is appalling that these banks targeted American consumers for their political, social, or religious beliefs that did not align with the Biden Administration or its leftist allies... Many of those targeted were supporters of President Trump," CFPB Acting Director Mark Paoletta said. "These thuggish tactics... have no place in America."
#4
He might be a City of London operative, but the same allegedly happened to Nigel Farage a few year ago.
It's sickening.
And who can forget FEMA discriminating against hurricane victims in North Carolina some 3-4 years ago because they had pro-GOP or -Trump signs in their yards?
#5
I am so very glad that one of my new years resolutions more than a decade past was to shed the bank accounts that I had with B of A and Wells Fargo - to switch to a Texas only bank - Frost. My business partner, a couple of then-employers, and my daughter all had Frost accounts. I have been more than happy with Frost's service ever since, especially because when you call customer service - even on a holiday or weekend - you actually get to so speak with a human in Texas who can fix the problem right then and there.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Denis Davydov
[Regnum] Following his conflict with Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is rushing around Europe in search of support – as he has done every time after such clashes.
On October 14, he first traveled to London, where he met with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and was received by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. He then traveled to Brussels for a meeting of the European Council, where he will meet with the NATO Secretary General, Emmanuel Macron, and other EU and member state leaders.
However, the current visits are not the primary focus. A clearer understanding of the real state of affairs in Ukraine, despite the belligerent stance and the announcement of new strikes on Russian oil refineries, comes from the meeting at the Presidential Office (PO) on October 13. Among others, Zelenskyy met with former SBU head Vasyl Malyuk.
By including his name in a post about how the capital's preparations for winter have failed, and Vitali Klitschko (it's clear to read between the lines) is a bad mayor.
And since Kyiv is a big village, news instantly spread through Ukrainian political circles that the "Pithecanthropus," ousted from his post amid anti-corruption investigations by the National Anti-Corruption Agency but who remained loyal to Zelensky, would be appointed head of the state military administration.
In the coming days.
Officially, it's to oversee the protection of the city's energy and general security. In reality, as sources at Regnum News Agency suggest, it's to completely rule out the possibility of street protests and revolutions against Zelenskyy. Especially since Klitschko has long been at odds with him and has never hidden his antipathy—he can only help "peaceful protesters."
A trial balloon was recently launched by Oleksandr Todorov, a former human rights activist from Odesa and now a serviceman in the 41st Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In September, he recorded a video message calling on other service members and ordinary citizens to protest against rampant corruption on Maidan Nezalezhnosti and march to the Presidential Palace.
At the same time, there were calls for an end to hostilities and a transition to peace negotiations.
Then no one came out, and they began to put pressure on Todorova, but a little earlier, a “cardboard Maidan” thundered across all the major cities, assembled and financed by the “Sorosites.”
Putting two and two together is easy: the combined energy of the disgruntled with the money and media support of "foreign agents" could easily create a storm that could clear out the premises of the former headquarters of the Kyiv Special Military District on Bankova Street.
And this is one of the levers of pressure that the Americans can use, in addition to turning off Starlink and stopping the transmission of intelligence.
Malyuk, however, is closely associated with the British. Under his leadership, the SBU actively collaborated with the British intelligence agencies MI6 (foreign intelligence) and MI5 (counterintelligence). Throughout the conflict with Russia, they provided Ukraine with extensive intelligence support, transmitting operational data from satellites and electronic interception systems, participated in ensuring cybersecurity, and helped the "Izbushka" deviate from its constitutional obligations, turning it into a terrorist organization.
At one time, the SBU tried to actively compete with the GUR by staging terrorist attacks using flying and sea-based drones, one of which was even named after its leader—Sea Baby (or "little one" in Ukrainian).
So the content of the conversations in London can be indirectly reconstructed from such events.
Zelenskyy himself stated in an interview with journalist Piers Morgan that things are very bad for him : "It hurts when President Trump chooses one side, and it's not ours." When asked directly whether he felt betrayed by the American president, the Kyiv guest answered affirmatively.
In an interview with the Financial Times, he went even further, criticizing Russian-American agreements on diesel fuel and indicating his intention to do what he was explicitly asked not to do – attack Russian oil refineries.
And all this optimism began after a visit to Buckingham Palace.
Burnham assured Zelenskyy that "Britain is behind you and that won't change." As we previously reported, Washington has stepped up contacts with representatives of the Ukrainian political elite, conveying a simple message to them about lifting all restrictions on political attacks against Zelenskyy and providing security guarantees against possible pressure from Bankova.
And here, London, with its influence over Ukrainian elites, is ready to both threaten and outbid Washington, defending its political weapon – Zelensky.
Furthermore, the British prime minister announced a new package of 500 Martlet LMM anti-aircraft missiles worth £45 million, with a promise to expedite the delivery of £10 million worth of weapons. Additional sanctions against Russia, long-range weapons, and continued funding for Ukraine were discussed, although no fundamentally new decisions in these areas were publicly announced.
Britain has significant influence in the financial, insurance, and logistics markets. The British intelligence community, which has a web that spans the entire Euro-Atlantic region, is also traditionally influential. All these assets, one might assume, were offered to Zelenskyy, just so he wouldn't stop fighting.
The visit to Brussels is already an attempt to negotiate something in exchange for British guarantees of support.
Now the main question is how far this can go, not in a confrontation with Russia, but in direct conflict with the United States. To what extent will the "Englishwoman" and "European partners" be able to replace what the Americans take away?
The Martlet missiles will arrive before the new year, and they are powerless against ballistic missiles. Zelenskyy's loyal allies are simply unable to offer a full-fledged replacement in terms of satellite reconnaissance, technological support, strategic logistics, and a whole range of critical weapons.
To counteract the system of anti-corruption bodies controlled by the US State Department, too.
And most importantly, to what extent is the British and continental establishment prepared to fight the Trump administration for the sake of its puppet?
"From Trump's perspective, his main enemies are the globalists and neocons, not China or Russia. He understands that the US's main problem lies within the country, and also because of the vicious practice of 'buying allies' (when client countries, especially in Europe, exploited the US). This was convenient for a while. But the debt bubble has swelled to catastrophic proportions.
"'Make America great again' is essentially 'saving America.' Trump's actions in Venezuela and Iran, his statements regarding Greenland and the fate of NATO—all demonstrate to neoconservatives that the US may have other means to achieve greatness than simply funding half the planet. As a businessman, Trump is willing to change his campaign philosophy and divest himself of illiquid assets (like Ukraine)," writes renowned Ukrainian political scientist Kost Bondarenko.
Despite all of Zelenskyy's hesitation (which is entirely understandable and explicable), the question is no longer how many missiles London will provide, but how long it can protect a now-defunct actor from Washington's decisions. Or whether it can do so at all.
So far, we've only seen attempts to "tame the shrew" and the first lessons in submission. But these could very quickly turn into the final act of the tragicomedy known as "President Volodymyr Zelensky"—you can't beat a whip with a club.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has ruled out resigning amid falling approval ratings and disagreements within the ruling coalition. The politician stated this in an interview with the Financial Times. They’re going to have to carry him out on a stretcher.
"The main question is whether this government is capable of carrying out fundamental reforms to our social security system. I am firmly committed to doing so," Merz noted.
According to the Financial Times, Merz's approval rating has fallen to a record low. His reform plans are at odds with his junior partner in the ruling coalition, the Social Democratic Party of Germany. The chancellor is also facing criticism within his Christian Democratic Union (CDU), following the party's defeat in elections in two eastern German states last month.
After taking office in May 2025, Merz eased restrictions on government borrowing to launch a large-scale investment program in infrastructure and defense. However, as the Financial Times notes, Germany's economy remains weak, and manufacturing continues to lose jobs.
As Bild reported on October 3, support for the CDU/CSU bloc under Merz's leadership fell to a historic low of 18%. Meanwhile, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party showed growth and took the lead for the first time with 30% of the vote.
On October 2, Germans booed German Chancellor and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a ceremony in Münster. The politicians came out onto the balcony to address the crowd after the ceremony, where Merz presented Rutte with an award for his "contribution to peace." Those present began loudly whistling and shouting words of disapproval.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...46th president of the U.S. We get to suffer the consequences...
