By Nupur Anand
NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. banks are petitioning the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to seek national standards for providing banking services that would override state-imposed rules, three sources familiar with the matter said.
Large banks, in particular, are lobbying for uniform U.S. regulations outlining how they can make loans, issue bonds or provide investment banking services, or assess anti-money laundering risks while curbing state powers over their operations, said the sources, who declined to be identified while discussing private talks.
The renewed push for national standards, which is being reported by Reuters for the first time, is part of a sweeping effort by the banking industry to lock in more favorable rules under U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
The changes would make it easier for lenders to operate, the sources said. They would also curtail states’ power to disrupt banks’ operations with rules on so-called “debanking,” a practice in which banks allegedly deny services to customers based on political or religious beliefs.
Individual states have previously punished banks and barred them from doing business based on lenders’ policies on guns, climate change, diversity and other social issues.
The debate around national standards came into focus in a lawsuit involving Bank of America. In a 2024 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal law takes precedence for national banks over state laws, a concept known as preemption. Large banks have focused on lobbying to defend themselves against accusations of debanking this year, citing unclear rules. Trump passed an executive order on debanking this month that aims to make the rules more uniform.
Emboldened lenders are now focused on preemption after getting regulators to water down stress tests and capital requirements, one of the sources said.
Banks plan to ramp up lobbying efforts after meeting with the OCC earlier this year to press the issue, the three sources said.
The OCC declined to comment.
“We strongly support national preemption and believe federal fair access legislation or regulation would be a prudent move to address account closures in a consistent way across all states,” the Bank Policy Institute, an industry association, said in a statement.
The American Bankers Association previously has said that an increasing number of states are considering laws that disregard the existing federal laws. The proposals would give state regulators authority over basic operations of a national bank, including decisions about deposit taking, lending, and risk management, which the ABA has opposed.
