On January 22nd, US President Trump filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon, seeking at least $5 billion in damages. Trump alleges that the financial institution stopped providing banking services to him and his businesses for political reasons.
In a complaint filed on Thursday in the Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, Trump accuses JPMorgan Chase of commercial defamation and violating implied contracts of good faith and fair dealing.
The lawsuit also claims that JPMorgan Chase CEO Dimon violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
JPMorgan Chase stated in a press release, “While we regret the President’s lawsuit against us, we believe it is baseless. We respect the President’s right to sue us and our right to defend ourselves.”
“We do not close accounts for political or religious reasons. We close accounts because they pose legal or regulatory risks to the company. We regret this, but in most cases, rules and regulations require us to do so,” JPMorgan Chase added.
“We have been calling on this administration and previous administrations to amend the rules and regulations that put us in this position, and we support this administration’s efforts to prevent the banking sector from being weaponized for political purposes,” the financial institution said.
Last month, a US banking regulator official stated that nine major banks had placed restrictions on providing financial services to some controversial industries, a practice commonly known as “debanking.”
Trump has repeatedly criticized JPMorgan Chase, alleging that these banks refuse to provide financial services to customers for ideological reasons. The largest bank in the United States disclosed in November last year that it was facing reviews, investigations, and legal actions related to the Trump administration’s efforts to combat “debanking.”
Trump accuses JPMorgan Chase of “riding a political wave” and unilaterally targeting him by terminating multiple accounts, which he claims violates the bank’s own policies.
(Adapted from a report by Bloomberg)