The OCC report revealed systemic discrimination: how American banks blocked legitimate industries due to reputation concerns

What the regulator’s investigation revealed

In early December 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released alarming findings about widespread “debanking” practices in the nine largest banks in the USA. The investigation covered the years 2020-2023, during which financial institutions systematically refused service to companies in legitimate industries, without relying on objective financial risk indicators.

Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould unequivocally characterized the banks’ actions as “failures” and called this an improper use of their government licenses. In his view, the institutions attempted to “use finance as a weapon,” applying broad industry bans instead of conducting individual risk assessments.

What sectors were affected

The report found that banks applied similar restrictions to companies operating in the oil and gas sector, arms manufacturing, tobacco business, and electronic cigarette distribution. However, the most acute issue concerned the cryptocurrency industry.

A key feature: financial institutions often did not develop individual risk assessments, instead relying on general classifications of entire sectors. Many banks publicly announced their ESG (environmental, social responsibility, corporate governance) policies and strengthened internal controls in response to negative media coverage.

Regulators are moving toward change

OCC, FDIC, and the Federal Reserve have begun a fundamental reassessment of their approach to regulated entities. The regulator will remove references to “reputational risk” from its supervisory guidelines and propose to exclude this category from oversight programs.

Previous three-agency statements on “crypto risks” have been withdrawn, and instead, a new directive was issued in July, rethinking risk management without a general negative bias against digital assets.

Why this matters for DeFi

Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of Chainlink, emphasizes that decentralized finance currently covers about 30% of the global market and is moving toward full adoption by 2030. In his opinion, regulatory clarity, especially from the American side, will be a key factor in attracting institutional capital.

During the conversation, Nazarov pointed out the critical role of automating compliance and improving technical infrastructure as prerequisites for the mass adoption of DeFi protocols into the mainstream.

Implications and prospects

The OCC investigation aims to hold the largest banks accountable for any illegal debanking. The US House of Representatives report indicated at least 30 cases of crypto company account closures and a chilling effect that caused innovation to migrate outside the US, limiting American consumers’ access to regulated payment systems.

The new regulatory course demonstrates a shift toward objective, risk-based analysis instead of reputational assumptions. This could be a turning point for the crypto industry in the US.