A
draft
of
the
executive
order
obtained
by
the
Journal
directs
regulators
to
investigate
potential
violations
of
the
Equal
Credit
Opportunity
Act,
antitrust
laws
or

consumer
financial
protection
laws.
Banks
found
in
violation
allegedly
could
face
fines,
consent
decrees
or
other
penalties.

The
order
could
be
signed
as
soon
as
this
week,
the
Journal
reported,
according
to
people
familiar
with
the
matter.

While
the
draft
doesn’t
single
out
specific
banks,
the
Journal
said
it
“appears
to
refer
to
an
instance
where Bank
of
America was
accused
of
shutting
down
the
accounts
of
a
Christian
organization
operating
in
Uganda
based
on
the
organization’s
religious
beliefs.
The
bank
has
said
it
shut
down
the
accounts
because
it
doesn’t
serve
small
businesses
operating
outside
the
U.S.”

The
draft
also
takes
aim
at
banks
involved
in
the
investigation
of
the
Jan.
6,
2021,
Capitol
riot.

Conservatives
have
long
claimed
banks
deny
them
services
for
political
or
religious
reasons,
while
crypto
firms
say
they
were
excluded
from
banking
under
the
Biden
administration.

In
recent
months,
banks
have
sought
to
avert
federal
action
by
meeting
with
Republican
attorneys
general
and
revising
policies
to
state
they
do
not
discriminate
based
on
political
affiliation.

The
draft
order
instructs
regulators
to
eliminate
policies
that
may
have
led
to
customers
being
dropped
and
directs
the

Small
Business
Administration
to
examine
the
practices
of
banks
that
guarantee
their
loans.
It
also
authorizes
regulators
to
refer
some
violations
to
the
attorney
general.

The
Trump
administration
has
pushed
for
the
expanded
use
of
cryptocurrency
in
mortgages.
A
new

bill
introduced
in
the Senate last
week
would
require Fannie
Mae and Freddie
Mac to
consider
unconverted
digital
assets
in
mortgage
underwriting.
Sen.
Cynthia
Lummis
(R-Wyo.)
introduced
the
legislation,
known
as
the
21st
Century
Mortgage
Act

S.B.
2471 is
a
response
to
a
directive
from Bill
Pulte,
the
director
of
the Federal
Housing
Finance
Agency (FHFA).
Pulte recently
instructed the
government-sponsored
enterprises
(GSEs)
to
consider
unconverted
cryptocurrencies
“that
can
be
evidenced
and
stored
on
a
U.S.-regulated
centralized
exchange
subject
to
all
applicable
laws.”