Trump sues JPMorgan Chase for $5bn in debanking row

Donald Trump has filed a $5bn (£3.7bn) lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase (JPMC), accusing it of debanking him and his business empire after his first term in the White House ended.

The US president claims America's largest bank by assets and its chief executive Jamie Dimon closed a number of personal and business accounts in February 2021, with 60 days' notice, for political reasons. The bank has denied this was the case.

Money latest: Is era of high savings rates over? Mr Trump argues that he and his business interests were cut off from millions of dollars and suffered disruption as they scrambled to open bank accounts elsewhere. According to Fox Business, the companies allegedly affected were a number of his interests in the hospitality sector.

The lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade County court in Florida, relates to the time of the handover of power to Joe Biden following the 2020 election result that Mr Trump maintained had been rigged. The disputed election culminated in the so-called Capitol riot of 6 January.

"JPMC debanked [Trump and his businesses] because it believed that the political tide at the moment favored doing so," the lawsuit claims. In a statement, JPMorgan said it regretted the fact that Mr Trump had brought the action but a spokesperson added: "We believe the suit has no merit.

"JPMC does not close accounts for political or religious reasons. We do close accounts because they create legal or regulatory risk for the company." Read more:Donald Trump and his long history of lawsuitsWhat does Trump accuse the BBC of doing? The debanking case has echoes of a separate row in the UK between the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and NatWest in 2023 over the closure of his accounts at Coutts, owned by the bank.

A settlement was agreed almost two years later, averting planned civil action by Mr Farage. Mr Trump has also brought a $10bn defamation case, again in Florida, against the BBC over the broadcaster's editing of a speech he made on the day of the Capitol protests..