Trump Signs Order Aimed At Preventing Illicit Financial Activity

The fact sheet claimed that “gaps in customer identification practices have allowed terrorists, drug traffickers, money launderers, and other criminal networks to exploit U.S. financial institutions to move illicit funds and evade law enforcement,” citing documented Chinese-linked money laundering networks.

The White House also pointed to cases of banks extending mortgages, credit cards, and loans to undocumented immigrants and employers underreporting wages for undocumented employees, arguing that associated “costs are passed on to American consumers in the form of higher fees and interest rates.”

Economists generally attribute higher rates to benchmark rates, which are used to balance inflation and job growth, bank funding costs, and individual factors like borrowers’ credit scores.