JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has dismissed a $5 billion lawsuit from President Donald Trump over account closures, but he also expressed an understanding of the president’s frustration.
In a legal filing, Trump named both Dimon and JPMorgan as defendants, alleging the bank severed ties with him for political reasons following the Capitol riot in 2021. The suit accuses the bank of “political discrimination” and demands $5 billion in damages.
Responding to the lawsuit on Monday, Dimon stated that “the case has no merit,” but conceded that he comprehends Trump’s anger.
“But I agree with them,” Dimon stated. “They have the right to be angry. I’d be angry, too. Like, why is a bank allowed to do that?”
Last month, JPMorgan disclosed for the first time that it terminated over 50 Trump-linked accounts in 2021, after his first term concluded. The lawsuit notes that Trump had been a client for decades prior to this action. The closed accounts were connected to hotels, housing developments, and retail shops, in addition to Trump’s personal private banking relationship that handled the inheritance from his father, Fred Trump, The New York Times reported.
JPMorgan has maintained that it “does not close accounts for political or religious reasons,” contradicting Trump’s allegations.
JPMorgan and the White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment from the publication.
Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump has initiated several lawsuits. He filed a comparable action against Capital One in March 2025, claiming the bank “unjustifiably terminated” more than 300 of his accounts. He has also threatened a $10 billion lawsuit for the alleged failure to prevent the leak of his tax returns during his initial term. Trump has further complained that another financial institution refused to accept billions in deposits after the January 6 riots, though he has not sued over that matter.
Financial institutions such as JPMorgan function within a regulatory system that permits examiners to penalize banks for maintaining relationships with controversial clients, a concept based on the idea that such associations could jeopardize a bank’s stability. Essentially, regulators can penalize banks during standard examinations for working with clients considered politically or socially risky.
Dimon clarified on Monday that the bank closes accounts when they pose a legal or regulatory threat, a practice he stated he dislikes.
“You don’t make a lot of money in bank accounts, so it’s much easier for banks to say, ‘I’m not taking the risk, let them go bank elsewhere,'” he said.
Nevertheless, the Trump administration is advocating for the removal of reputational risk as a factor in federal bank examinations, with regulators working to formalize this change. The administration supports a proposal from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that would forbid regulators from coercing banks to close accounts due to a customer’s political or religious beliefs. The Federal Reserve also announced last year it would cease considering reputational risk in its bank supervision, taking further steps in February.
Despite dismissing the lawsuit, both Dimon and Trump share an interest in reforming the current system.
“There are a lot of misunderstandings here,” Dimon said. “Hopefully the law will change, and hopefully it’ll get sorted out.”