WASHINGTON — The White House on Thursday issued an executive order limiting financial institutions’ ability to restrict access to financial services for people or groups involved in lawful industries, a longtime goal of adult industry advocates and stakeholders.
“This is very welcome news for anyone who works in the industry,” the Free Speech Coalition (FSC) posted on X, shortly after the order was announced.
Titled “Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans,” the order states that financial institutions “have engaged in unacceptable practices to restrict law-abiding individuals’ and businesses’ access to financial services on the basis of political or religious beliefs or lawful business activities.”
While the order makes it clear that the Trump administration is mainly motivated by protecting conservative and right-wing people and groups from debanking, the adult industry stands to benefit as well. The order prohibits banks, savings associations, credit unions or other financial service providers from restricting access to accounts, loans or other services on the basis of a customer’s lawful business activities “that the financial service provider disagrees with or disfavors for political reasons.”
The order notes that victims of debanking “have suffered frozen payrolls, debt and crushing interest, and other significant harms to their livelihoods, reputations, and financial well-being. Such practices are incompatible with a free society and the principle that the provision of banking services should be based on material, measurable, and justifiable risks.”
In February, FSC submitted a statement to the United States House Committee on Financial Services, stating, “Despite being a lawful industry that adheres to legal and financial compliance requirements, FSC members continue to experience systematic debanking—a practice that deprives individuals and businesses of fundamental financial services without clear justification. As financial institutions and federal banking regulators appear to apply subjective moral judgments rather than objective risk assessments, thousands of legal workers, independent entrepreneurs, and businesses are left without access to banking, payment processing, and lending.”
FSC has also come out in support of the FIRM Act, a Senate bill that includes provisions similar to the directives in Thursday’s executive order. That legislation has yet to advance in the Senate, however.