Five Years After Bank Closed His Accounts, Trump Sues Bank and CEO
January 22, 2026—A day after JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon gave an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in which he was largely deferential to President Donald Trump, Trump sued both the bank and Dimon for $5 billion.
Trump’s complaint alleges libel and unfair and deceptive trade practices. He accused the Wall Street firm, one of the world’s largest private investment companies, of debanking his bank accounts without warning on February 19, 2021.
Debanking is a term used to describe the sudden closure by a financial institution of a client’s account, often based on non-financial reasons for risk management. Critics refer to it as economic censorship.
Banks’ Actions
In the wake of the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, several banks announced they would stop doing business with Trump. They included Deutsche Bank and Signature Bank after what one bank executive called, “a dark day for America and our democracy.” Several others, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Citi, temporarily halted political donations, while fintechs PayPal and Stripe blocked payments to groups associated with the riot, Banking Dive reported at the time. Leaders of the major banks also released statements condemning the insurrection. The six-month pause imposed by JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs applied to political contributions to both political parties. Citigroup suspended PAC donations to all lawmakers during the first quarter of the year. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley limited suspensions to the politicians who opposed the Electoral College certification process, CNBC reported in 2021. Other companies, including tech giants Google, Facebook, and Microsoft also paused political contributions.
Warming of Relations
One by one, leaders from each of those companies found their way back in Trump’s favor. At one point, as Trump prepared for his second term, he considered tapping Dimon as the nation’s Treasury Secretary—one of the highest cabinet positions.
On Wednesday, in an interview at the World Economic Forum with moderator Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief at The Economist, Dimon offered a deferential tone to Trump. He declined to answer the question of whether there’s a “climate of fear” among corporate CEOs regarding Trump. He praised Trump for closing the U.S.-Mexico border to waves of unregulated migration, but he indicated he would prefer a change in immigration policy. On geopolitics, Dimon said the United States is still a military ally of 40 countries, suggesting it remains a reliable global partner.
“It’s not a rupture. If you said to me, ‘Has America become unreliable?’ No. It’s just you had total reliance, and now it’s less reliable,” he said.
Fast Forward Five Years
Five years later, Trump’s lawyers are taking action against Dimon and JPMorgan Chase. They filed a 26-page lawsuit today in a Miami-Dade state courthouse in Florida. Plaintiffs include Trump and nine of his businesses, such as Trump Payroll Corp., Trump Briarcliff Manor Development, Trump Chicago Retail, and Trump National Golf Club.
The filing alleges that the bank gave notice to the Plaintiffs on February 19, 2021 that their bank accounts be closed two months later without “recourse, remedy, or alternative” to the “final and unequivocal” decision. It claimed the decision by the bank was based on “woke” political and social motivations.
The lawsuit includes a history of debanking in the United States. Notably, it asks for Defendants to award the Plaintiffs $5 billion, specifically accusing Dimon of blacklisting Trump, his family, and organizations. It asks the court to provide a jury trial.
JPMorgan Chase Responds
JPMorgan responded that the only reason it closes accounts is if they pose a legal or regulatory risk.
“While we regret President Trump has sued us, we believe the suit has no merit. We respect the President’s right to sue us and our right to defend ourselves – that’s what courts are for. Our company does not close accounts for political or religious reasons. We do close accounts because they create legal or regulatory risk for the company. We regret having to do so, but often rules and regulatory expectations lead us to do so. We have been asking both this Administration and prior administrations to change the rules and regulations that put us in this position, and we support this Administration’s efforts to prevent the weaponization of the banking sector.”
Trump’s Series of Lawsuits
In the past year, Trump has sued several major businesses for billions of dollars. He sued media companies, including the Wall Street Journal, theBBC, The New York Times, ABC News, and Paramount’s CBS in most cases for defamation. Many of those cases ended in settlements favoring Trump. He previously sued Meta Platform over its suspension of his accounts after the attack on the Capitol. Likewise, the Trump Organization sued Capitol One for the same reason. Furthermore, his Justice Department has launched criminal investigations against political rivals and one-time allies.
