JP Morgan Finally Backs Down, Agrees to Reverse Discriminatory Anti-Gun Business Practices

There are big changes for the firearm industry when it comes to access to banking services. JPMorgan Chase recently announced the banking giant’s policy of denying services to manufacturers of modern sporting rifles is over.

That’s a welcome reversal of policy after NSSF met with JPMorgan Chase officials to work to end the discriminatory policy. It’s also the most recent of the big banks, including Bank of America and Citigroup that have shifted banking service policies that previously froze out members of the firearm industry.

Chase Business Banking CEO Ben Walter has issued a letter acknowledging the old banking playbook is no longer sustainable. NSSF is encouraged by the development and like the others, is taking a “Trust, but verify” approach.

For years, lawful firearm and ammunition businesses have faced a quiet but very real threat: being choked off from routine financial services, not because of objective risk, but because of cultural and political animus.

The tactics have been familiar — account closures without meaningful explanation, shifting “policy” justifications, even the catch-all “reputational risk” euphemism used to deny service to constitutionally protected commerce.

What JPMorgan Chase Wrote

JPMorgan’s letter makes several statements that, taken at face value, represent meaningful movement toward fair access. The bank states it believes “no one should be denied a bank account or service based on religious or political viewpoint or affiliation,” and it expresses support for the “intent of the Fair Access Executive Order.” That aligns with the White House’s stated policy that Americans should not be denied financial services because of constitutionally protected beliefs or affiliations, and that banking decisions should be based on individualized, objective, risk-based analysis.

Most notably, JPMorgan Chase says it has “removed firmwide restrictions” on several sectors, including a restriction it “previously maintained on lending to manufacturers of modern sporting rifles for civilian use.”

The letter also describes internal steps to improve consistency and reduce mistakes, including changes to its customer fairness policy, employee education, documentation and quality control, and Code of Conduct language barring discrimination on political or religious viewpoints. JPMorgan Chase adds that it serves “thousands” of firearm-related companies and processes payments for retailers directly and through processors such as Intuit.

That’s not a minor tweak for the banking giant. That’s a significant shift from CEO Jamie Dimon’s testimony before Congress in 2021 that the bank wouldn’t finance modern sporting rifle makers. Dimon said earlier this year that wasn’t true, yet the policy existed.

NSSF is grateful for change that takes politics out of business.

Why Now?

The broader financial ecosystem is shifting under pressure from regulators, lawmakers, customers, and industries that refused to accept ideological exclusion as a “business decision.”

Federal regulators have also put de-banking practices under a microscope. In December 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released preliminary findings from its review of large banks’ de-banking activities, describing observed restrictions on certain industry sectors and signaling an ongoing review that includes large volumes of complaints. NSSF has been explicit that these findings validate what the firearm industry has experienced for years and that the firearm sector was among those politically disfavored targets identified in the OCC’s review.

JPMorgan Chase’s letter outlined the “why” behind the policy change.

“Based on our experience over time, we found that some of the expected risks related to lending to such manufacturers were not as significant as we had anticipated,” the letter states. “We also understand that not serving a client or prospective client carries its own risks. That’s why our approach is to consider each client or prospective client on a case-by-case basis, considering a variety of objective commercial factors, including operational capabilities, risk management, and business strategy.”

While JPMorgan Chase’s shift is welcome, it must also be measurable. That’s why NSSF will applaud the decision and hold onto a “Trust, but verify” attitude. Business decisions should be based on credit worthiness and ability to compete in the marketplace. Banking discrimination against the firearm industry was wrong — and illegal — when President Barack Obama introduced it as Operation Choke Point. It was wrong when it was privatized by banks. It appears to finally being scrubbed from existence, but the proof will be when firearm businesses can demonstrate they can access the financial services they need with these big banks.

Make it Law

None of this means NSSF believes the fight is over. A future administration can reverse these gains with an executive order. NSSF continues to push for passage of several bills that, should they become law, would protect against banking discrimination. Those include U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott’s (R-S.C.) Financial Integrity and Regulation Management Act, S. 875, which has already passed favorably from the Senate Banking Committee. That bill has a companion in the U.S. House of Representatives, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), introduced under the same title as H.R. 2702, which has also passed favorably from the House Financial Services Committee.

There are also other NSSF-supported Congressional efforts to codify protections against banking discrimination including the Fair Access to Banking Act, introduced in the Senate by Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) as S. 401 and in the House by Rep. Barr (R-Ky.) as H.R. 987, as well as the Firearm Industry Nondiscrimination (FIND) Act, introduced in the House by Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.) as H.R. 45 and the Senate by Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) as S. 137.

Further, NSSF was successful in passing the FIND Act in 11 states, which prohibits state agencies and local government entities from entering into taxpayer-funded contracts with corporations that discriminate against members of the firearm industry.

The firearm industry doesn’t need special treatment. It needs equal treatment: financial services evaluated on lawful status, objective risk and performance — not on whether an industry is fashionable in certain circles.

 

Larry Keane is SVP for Government and Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary and General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.