U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency: Investigation Reveals Major Banks Still Engage in Denying Services to Legitimate Cryptocurrency Businesses

BlockBeats News, December 11th, according to a preliminary report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), an examination of nine of the largest U.S. banks found that these banks, based on customers' legitimate businesses (such as the crypto industry) rather than financial risk, restricted or denied providing related services to enterprises.

The OCC's review targets the business policies of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, US Bank, First Capital Financial Corporation, PNC Bank, TD Bank, and Montreal Bank. The OCC stated that at least some of these banks imposed special restrictions or enhanced scrutiny on customers in the above industry, even though these businesses are legal.

OCC official Jonathan V. Gould stated that the investigation results reflect the agency's commitment to "ending behavior weaponizing finance incited by regulatory agencies or banks." He added that as the investigation continues, the OCC plans to hold banks accountable.

The agency emphasized that the findings released on Thursday, December 11th, are only the first phase of its investigation. While the OCC continues to assess whether banks are engaging in illegal discrimination against specific industries, thousands of complaints are still pending review.

Overall, the OCC has been steadily easing its view on cryptocurrency. Last month, the agency in an interpretive letter confirmed that major banks are formally allowed to hold cryptocurrency on their balance sheets for paying blockchain network fees for "other permissible" banking activities. On Tuesday, December 10th, the regulatory agency further stated that banks can engage in "riskless principal transactions" related to crypto assets.