For years, adult businesses have lived with a quiet, exhausting fear: Will my bank account suddenly disappear tomorrow?

Today, that anxiety cracked open.

In a rare and long-overdue acknowledgement, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released a preliminary report confirming that major banks discriminated against legal businesses, including the adult entertainment industry. The findings, which landed via the Free Speech Coalition’s (FSC) latest newsletter, are the closest thing to institutional validation the industry has had in decades.

A Federal Agency Finally Says What Adult Businesses Have Known All Along

The OCC's supervisory review was conducted in accordance with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14331, “Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans.” The order mandates that banking decisions must be based on “material, measurable, and justifiable risks”, not political or moral beliefs.

From 2020 to 2023, the OCC investigated the debanking practices of the nine largest national banks, including Chase, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

What they found? A pattern.

These banks were identified as making “inappropriate distinctions” when offering financial services to lawful businesses.

In plain language: They denied accounts and services not because of core financial risk, but because of perceived “reputation risk” or internal “values.”

For the adult industry, this is more than a bureaucratic footnote. It’s validation. It’s the first official acknowledgment that debanking in the adult sector was real and systemic — not paranoia, not anecdotal.

What the OCC Actually Found (In Their Own Words)

The OCC stated that banks restricted access to services for businesses engaged in legal activities, even when those activities did not violate any federal or state laws.

“The OCC’s preliminary findings show that, between 2020 and 2023, these nine banks made inappropriate distinctions among customers in the provision of financial services on the basis of their lawful business activities by maintaining policies restricting access to banking services… For example, the OCC identified instances where at least one bank imposed restrictions on certain industry sectors because they engaged in ‘activities that, while not illegal, are contrary to [the bank’s] values.’ Sectors subjected to restricted access included oil and gas exploration, coal mining, firearms, private prisons, tobacco and e-cigarette manufacturers, adult entertainment, and digital assets.”

— U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Preliminary Findings

The report specifically highlights that at least one major bank restricted clients because their work was “contrary to the bank’s values.” By making distinctions based on reputation rather than objective financial risk, the OCC is signaling that these banks may have prioritized internal moral codes over the federal mandate to provide fair access to all legal businesses.

A Huge Win for the Free Speech Coalition

The FSC has been fighting this battle for years. Industry attorneys and platform operators have all described the same experience: fully legal, fully compliant, and still denied services by banks citing “reputational risk.”

Today’s report marks the first time a federal regulator publicly states that this discrimination may violate government policy, specifically Executive Order 14331. Banks are now officially on notice.

As Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould stated:

“The OCC is committed to ending efforts... that would weaponize finance.”

The agency intends to hold banks accountable for any unlawful debanking activities, including by considering a bank's record when reviewing licensing filings or Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) ratings.

Banks are now officially on notice. And for once… that feels big.

Why This Matters for Adult Entrepreneurs and Creators

If you’ve been running a business in the adult space, you know the numbers:

• Up to 3 in 5 adult creators report issues opening or maintaining business accounts.
• Industry platforms spend 30–40% more on compliance and financial routing due to debanking risk.
• Some payment processors impose 5–15% higher fees solely due to “category reputation.”

A change in federal posture could reshape the entire landscape of financial services for the adult industry:

• Lower Compliance Costs: Reduced need for expensive, specialized financial routing solutions.
• More Stable Banking: Consistent access to standard business accounts and loans.
• Reduced Disruption: Fewer sudden account closures or payment freezes.
• Increased Safety: Eliminating the need for creators to use personal bank accounts, which puts them at risk of doxxing, financial exploitation, and loss of safety.

If banks can no longer rely on moral gatekeeping as a justification, the industry can move toward a more transparent, predictable financial environment.

What Happens Next

The OCC will now move into a formal rulemaking process. This means regulations will likely tighten, guidance will be issued, and banks may be required to revise internal policies that target legal adult businesses.

The FSC called this a “significant, if early, victory.” Industry analysts agree.

As the OCC initiates its formal rulemaking process, the focus now shifts to whether this initial victory translates into enforceable changes that finally stabilize the financial footing for creators and entrepreneurs across the adult space. For the first time, “reputational risk” has a formal, federal challenger.

Over the coming months, we’ll see:

• How banks respond
• Whether policies get rewritten
• What enforcement looks like
• How creators and businesses can leverage these changes

Broker.xxx will be tracking these developments closely.

The Bottom Line

For the first time in years, the conversation around adult industry banking access is shifting, and not quietly. A major U.S. regulatory body has recognized the discrimination, named the banks, and signaled that these practices may violate federal policy.

It’s early, but it’s big.

And for adult creators, studios, platforms, and service providers who’ve been operating in financial uncertainty for too long, it’s a rare thing in this space:

Good news. Real good news.