The news: President Donald Trump sued JPMorgan Chase and its CEO, Jamie Dimon, for $5 billion, alleging the bank closed his accounts in January 2021 for political reasons. JPMorgan responded that the lawsuit has no merit.

Zoom out: Dimon has aggressively criticized some Trump administration policies and proposals. Last Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he called a 10% credit card rate cap proposed by Trump “an economic disaster.” He has spoken out against political interference with the Federal Reserve and the administration’s tariff policies. Other bankers have weighed in on the risks caused by the administration’s trade policy and the credit card fee cap but have been reluctant to speak so bluntly.

Last year, President Trump suggested that Bank of America (BofA) debanked conservatives, and he claimed JPMorgan Chase and BofA discriminated against him by rejecting his company’s deposits. In August, he signed an executive order targeting alleged debanking of religious and conservative groups. Both banks responded in November to government requests related to their “policies and processes and the provision of services to customers and potential customers.”

In December, the Trump administration’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published a report accusing the largest US banks of limiting access to banking services for oil and gas companies, coal mining companies, firearms manufacturers and distributors, private prisons and detention centers, payday lenders and debt collectors, tobacco sellers, digital asset companies, and political parties.

Implications for banks: Bank executives are in an uncomfortable position. The largest banks are bearing the brunt of the Trump administration’s ire. But the reputational risks aren’t limited to those named in the OCC report or that end up in the headlines. Amid regulatory and reputational risks, most bankers need to keep a low profile rather than trying to control the narrative.