Largest US Bank JPMorgan Chase Closed Donald Trump's 50 Accounts In 2021. Here's Why

Last Updated:February 22, 2026, 08:21 IST

Until now, JPMorgan had never formally acknowledged closing Trump's accounts after Jan. 6, previously speaking only in general terms about account closures and citing privacy laws.

JPMorgan Chase has for the first time publicly acknowledged that it closed President Donald Trump’s bank accounts and those of several of his businesses in the months after the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, marking a significant shift in its stance over the issue known as “debanking."

The disclosure was made in a court filing submitted this week in Trump’s lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase and its CEO, Jamie Dimon. The president is seeking $5 billion in damages, claiming his accounts were shut down for political reasons, causing significant disruption to his business operations.

“In February 2021, JPMorgan informed Plaintiffs that certain accounts maintained with JPMorgan’s CB and PB would be closed," JPMorgan’s former chief administrative officer Dan Wilkening wrote in the court filing. The “PB" and “CB" stands for JPMorgan’s private bank and commercial bank.

Till now, JPMorgan has never admitted it closed the president’s accounts in writing after Jan. 6. The bank would only speak hypothetically about when the bank closes accounts and its reasons for closing accounts, citing bank privacy laws.

A spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase declined to offer additional comment beyond the bank’s statements in its court filings.

Trump initially filed the lawsuit in Florida state court, where he now maintains his primary residence. The latest filings are part of JPMorgan’s push to shift the case from state to federal court and to transfer jurisdiction to New York, where the accounts were held and where Trump conducted much of his business until recently.

Originally, Trump accused the bank of trade libel and violating state and federal unfair and deceptive trade practices.

In the original lawsuit, the president said he tried to raise the issue personally with Dimon after the bank sent him notices that JPMorgan would close his accounts, and that Dimon assured Trump he would figure out what was happening. The lawsuit alleges Dimon failed to follow up with Trump.

Additionally, Trump’s attorneys claim that JPMorgan Chase placed the president and his businesses on a reputational “blacklist," which they allege is shared within the bank and possibly with other financial institutions to prevent future account openings. However, the president’s legal team has not yet clearly defined or detailed the nature of the alleged blacklist.

“If and when Plaintiffs explain what they mean by this “blacklist," JPMorgan will respond accordingly," the bank’s lawyers said in a filing.

JPMorgan Chase has previously said that while it regrets that Trump chose to file suit, it believes the case is without merit.

At the heart of the dispute is the issue of “debanking" — the practice of a financial institution closing a customer’s accounts or declining to provide services such as loans. Once a relatively little-known concept in banking, debanking has in recent years become politically contentious, with conservative lawmakers alleging that banks have unfairly targeted them and affiliated groups.

“In a devastating concession that proves President Trump’s entire claim, JPMorgan Chase admitted to unlawfully and intentionally de-banking President Trump, his family, and his businesses, causing overwhelming financial harm," the president’s lawyers said in a statement. President Trump is standing up for all those wrongly debanked by JPMorgan Chase and its cohorts, and will see this case to a just and proper conclusion.

Debanking first emerged as a national controversy when conservatives accused the Obama administration of pressuring financial institutions to cut off services to gun retailers and payday lenders under the initiative known as Operation Choke Point.

Trump and other conservative figures have alleged that banks cut them off from their accounts under the umbrella term of “reputational risk" after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Since Trump came back into office, the president’s banking regulators have moved to stop any banks from using “reputational risk" as a reason for denying service to customers.

This is not the first time Trump has taken legal action against a major financial institution over alleged debanking. In March 2025, the Trump Organization filed a similar lawsuit against credit card company Capital One. That case remains pending.

(With inputs from AP)

News world Largest US Bank JPMorgan Chase Closed Donald Trump's 50 Accounts In 2021. Here's Why

Read More