Trump Signs Order Tightening Bank Checks, Citing $312 Billion in Chinese Money Laundering
Updated
Updated · The White House · May 20
Trump Signs Order Tightening Bank Checks, Citing $312 Billion in Chinese Money Laundering
11 articles · Updated · The White House · May 20
Trump signed an executive order directing Treasury and federal regulators to tighten customer identification and due-diligence rules for banks, with a focus on illicit finance and lending tied to non-work-authorized immigrants.
Treasury must issue an advisory flagging payroll tax evasion, hidden account ownership, off-the-books wages, labor trafficking, structuring schemes and use of taxpayer identification numbers to open accounts or obtain credit without verified legal presence.
The order also tells regulators to consider tougher Bank Secrecy Act and customer-identification rules, including risks linked to foreign consular ID cards, and asks the CFPB to weigh deportation risk and wage loss in ability-to-repay standards.
The White House said gaps in current controls let criminal networks exploit U.S. banks, citing more than $312 billion laundered by Chinese networks and fentanyl-related financial hubs tied to Mexico-based cartels.
The move fits a broader Trump push to reshape financial regulation around stricter enforcement, anti-debanking measures and support for digital-asset and alternative-investment access.
Will new banking rules curb illicit finance or simply drive it further into the shadows?
How will stricter ID rules for banking affect millions of immigrant entrepreneurs and homeowners in America?
Can tightening credit for some borrowers truly lower interest rates and fees for all American consumers?