Bank of America Still Won't Explain Why It Closed a Reagan Film Company's Accounts in 2021

What Actually Happened

RawHide Pictures, the production company that made the Ronald Reagan biopic Reagan, showed The California Post a 2021 letter from Bank of America informing the company that its accounts were being closed.

No reason was given. Not then, and not now.

The company appealed, got its accounts back, and the film eventually got made. But RawHide had to scramble for alternative banking in the interim, according to The California Post's reporting. Bank of America has declined to explain why the closure was initiated in the first place.

The Broader Context

The RawHide episode is one data point in a larger argument about financial de-platforming. President Donald Trump stated publicly, roughly a year before today's date, that both Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase rejected his deposits after he left the presidency in January 2021.

That period—the weeks after January 6, 2021—saw a coordinated set of moves by financial institutions and social media platforms that collectively limited Trump's access to normal commercial and public life. Twitter, in its pre-Elon Musk form, had begun restricting Trump earlier: his first suspension came in July 2020, when he posted a link to a video featuring doctors questioning the scientific consensus on coronavirus.

Bank of America's history with politically charged financial decisions predates all of that. In 2018, the bank announced it would stop providing financial services to certain gun manufacturers. It later reversed that policy. But the reversal didn't erase the precedent.

What's Proven, What's Alleged

What is documented: Bank of America sent RawHide Pictures a 2021 letter closing its accounts. The accounts were later reinstated. Trump publicly stated both Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase rejected his deposits after January 2021. Bank of America did announce a policy in 2018 restricting services to some gun makers, then walked it back.

What is alleged but not proven: That RawHide's account closure was specifically motivated by the company's connection to a conservative film subject. Bank of America has offered no explanation, and no internal documents or whistleblower accounts have been published that establish the motive.

What makes this hard to prove: Banks are not legally required to explain account closures in most circumstances under current U.S. law. That asymmetry is exactly what makes de-banking complaints difficult to adjudicate. A customer can be shut out with no recourse and no stated reason.

The Strongest Counterargument

Skeptics of the de-banking narrative make a fair point: banks close accounts routinely for reasons that have nothing to do with politics. Compliance issues, suspicious transaction patterns, regulatory pressure under Bank Secrecy Act requirements, or simple business decisions about unprofitable accounts all trigger closures. The fact that a conservative-affiliated company had its account closed does not, by itself, prove political motivation. The account was ultimately reinstated, which critics of the de-banking framing say undermines the severity of the claim.

No investigation has been announced, and no charges have been filed against Bank of America related to RawHide's account closure or any other politically motivated de-banking allegation as of July 7, 2026.

Why the Question Doesn't Go Away

Even granting the charitable explanation—that banks make routine compliance decisions without political intent—the systemic problem remains: there is currently no enforceable right to a bank account in the United States, and no requirement that banks explain terminations.

That gap is where the legitimate policy debate lives. Conservatives have pushed for "financial services non-discrimination" legislation that would require banks to offer accounts on a viewpoint-neutral basis, similar to how utilities are regulated. Civil liberties advocates across the political spectrum have flagged the same gap, though for different client populations.

Bank of America closing a Reagan film company's accounts may or may not have been politically motivated. Without disclosure, nobody outside the bank actually knows. That opacity is the core problem. Until banks are required to give reasons for account terminations, these disputes will keep arising with no clean resolution available.

Congress has held hearings on de-banking in recent years, but no federal legislation requiring explanations for account closures has passed as of today.