CFPB’s Chopra Promotes 2020 Proposal to Tackle GOP ‘Debanking’

A US regulator’s proposal during President Donald Trump’s first term that would’ve required banks to finance controversial businesses can be repurposed to address concerns about “debanking” conservatives, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra said.

National banks have an “incredible amount of power,” whether under government pressure or of their own volition, to cut off people and companies engaged in politically disfavored speech from the banking system, Chopra said Monday on a Federalist Society webinar.

One way to potentially address those concerns is to take the 2020 proposal from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency focused on lending ...