US President Donald Trump is suing banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its CEO Jamie Dimon for $5 billion ($7.3 billion), alleging that JPMorgan cut off banking services to him and his businesses for political reasons after leaving office in January 2021.

The lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade County Court in Florida, alleges that JPMorgan abruptly closed multiple accounts in February 2021 with just 60 days’ notice and no explanation.

In doing so, Mr. Trump alleges that JPMorgan and Mr. Dimon severed millions of dollars from him and his business, interfered with his operations and forced him to urgently open bank accounts elsewhere.

“JPMC terminated (Mr. Trump’s and his companies’) bank accounts because it believed that current political trends favored doing so,” the complaint alleges.

In the lawsuit, Trump claims that after banks began closing accounts, he tried to personally raise the issue with Dimon, and that Dimon promised to figure out what was going on.

The complaint alleges that Dimon failed to follow up.

Trump accused JPMorgan of unilaterally violating its principles by closing the accounts of him and his service provider.

He also accused him of creating a malicious “blacklist” to warn other banks about their dealings with Dimon, his family and the Trump Organization.

JPMorgan said in a statement that it believes the lawsuit is without merit.

rising tension

Trump last week threatened to sue JPMorgan Chase amid heightened tensions between the White House and Wall Street.

The US president has said he wants to cap interest rates on credit cards at 10% to help consumers cut costs.

Chase is one of the largest credit card issuers in the United States, and one bank official said it intends to fight any efforts by the White House or Congress to impose interest rate caps on credit cards.

Dimon, who ran JPMorgan for 20 years and is one of the most influential figures in corporate America, told the World Economic Forum on Wednesday that capping card interest rates would limit credit access for many consumers and lead to an “economic disaster.”

Banking industry executives have welcomed the administration’s push for deregulation, saying it could cut down on bureaucracy, increase profits and spur economic growth.

But at the same time, industry executives are also outraged. Trump’s attack on Fed independence.

Mr. Dimon said on January 13 that he supports the independence of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The Trump administration has launched a criminal investigation into Powell.act of.

Mr. Dimon added that Mr. Trump’s intervention at the Fed could accelerate inflation.

“We should lower interest rates,” Trump said at the time. “Jamie Dimon probably wants to raise them. Maybe that would make more money.”

Debanking occurs when a bank closes a customer’s account or refuses to do business with the customer in the form of a loan or other service.

Once a relatively obscure issue in the financial world, bank abolishment has become a politically charged issue in recent years, with conservative politicians arguing that banks discriminate against banks and their related interests.

Debanking first became an issue in the United States when conservatives accused the Obama administration of pressuring banks to stop expanding services to gun stores and payday lenders under Operation Chokepoint.

Mr. Trump and other prominent conservatives have claimed that banks blocked deposits from their accounts after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol based on the umbrella term “reputational risk.”

Since Trump returned to office, the president’s banking regulators have moved to prevent any bank from using “reputational risk” as a reason to deny service to customers.

“JPMC’s conduct…is a significant indicator of a systematic and destructive industry practice designed to force the public to change and readjust their political views,” Trump’s lawyers said in the lawsuit.

JP Morgan acquires stock

This is not the first time Trump has filed suit against a major bank for being terminated.

The Trump Organization sued credit card giant Capital One in March 2025 on similar grounds and allegations. The case is still winding its way through the court system.

Mr. Trump accused the trade bank of defamation and accused Mr. Dimon of violating Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

JPMorgan said in a statement that it “regrets” that Trump sued the bank, but insisted it did not close the account for political reasons.

“JPMC does not close accounts for political or religious reasons,” a bank spokesperson said.

“We close accounts because they pose a legal or regulatory risk to the company.

“We regret that we have had to do this, but in many cases we are guided by the rules and expectations of our regulators.”

JPMorgan shares closed up 0.5% on Thursday.

increasing political pressure

Banks have come under increasing political pressure in recent years, particularly from conservatives who say lenders discriminate against industries such as firearms and fossil fuels for political reasons.

That pressure intensified during Mr. Trump’s second term in the White House, with Republicans accusing some banks of denying service to Mr. Trump and other conservatives. The bank denies the allegations.

In December, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a major banking regulator, announced in a report that nine major U.S. banks were restricting financial services to certain industries as part of a push to abolish banking.

Regulators did not provide specific examples of wrongdoing, but said they found that large banks denied service to some industries or required higher levels of oversight from 2020 to 2023.

Companies affected include oil and gas companies, cryptocurrency companies, tobacco and e-cigarette manufacturers, and firearms companies.

Regulators have found that many banks have published restrictive policies that are often tied to environmental, social, and governance goals.

Many banks have since scaled back on such practices, and regulators said they continue to investigate thousands of complaints about debanking.

U.S. regulators also investigated whether their supervisory policies prevent banks from servicing certain corporate customers.

Last year, federal banking regulators announced they would no longer police banks based on so-called reputational risk. This would allow supervisors to penalize financial institutions for activities that, while not explicitly illegal, could expose them to negative publicity and costly litigation.

The industry is also calling on regulators to update anti-money laundering rules that could force banks to close suspicious accounts without explanation.

AP/Reuters