The production company behind the Ronald Reagan biopic starring Dennis Quaid says Bank of America abruptly canceled its banking accounts in the middle of filming, forcing the company to scramble for a new bank within 30 days and causing what its spokesman called "irreparable and significant harm."
RawHide Pictures, which produced the film "Reagan," received a letter from Bank of America dated December 29, 2020, informing the company that the bank had "completed a review" of the relationship and decided to shut it down. The closure took effect January 29, 2021. No reason was given.
The disclosure adds another name to a growing list of companies and individuals who say major financial institutions cut them off without explanation, a practice now under federal investigation at President Trump's direction. Bank of America denies that political or religious views played any role, but RawHide's spokesman says the company still has "no idea why it happened."
The Bank of America letter, provided by RawHide Pictures to the New York Post, is blunt and procedural. It invokes a contractual clause allowing either party to "unilaterally exit the relationship at any time upon the required notice."
"The bank has determined that it wishes to close your relationship (accounts and services) in accordance with the deadline outlined below. On or after that date, we will not honor any withdrawals, fund transfers, checks or other transactions with respect to the account."
The letter told RawHide it was the company's responsibility to contact anyone making electronic debits or credits to the account. Any transactions after the closure date would be returned as "account closed."
That gave the production company exactly 30 days, in the middle of active filming, to find a new bank, move its funds, and redirect every payment tied to a motion picture in production. RawHide moved its money to JP Morgan Chase.
Alfred Hopton, RawHide's spokesman, confirmed the account closure and described the disruption it caused. He told the New York Post that the company had not previously gone public with the matter.
"I can confirm that the film's account at Bank of America did indeed receive a letter 'debanking' us in late 2020 as we were in the middle of production. There was no recourse offered, so in the middle of our production of the film we were forced to move our funds to Chase within the 30 days prescribed."
"As you can imagine, such a disruption was a major problem for us that caused irreparable and significant harm."
Hopton stressed that RawHide is not a political organization. The company makes movies. Its subject happened to be the 40th president of the United States.
"We are not a political entity but merely a film whose main character happened to spend part of his life in politics."
Months after the closure, Bank of America restored RawHide's accounts following an appeal. The exact date of reinstatement has not been disclosed, nor have the grounds of the appeal.
A Bank of America spokesperson responded to the New York Post's inquiry with a two-part denial. First, the bank said it does not close accounts "for political or religious reasons." Second, the spokesperson pointed out that RawHide currently holds multiple active accounts with the bank, a fact the spokesperson said "doesn't square with questions of debanking."
That response leaves a gap. The accounts are active now, yes, but only because they were restored after an appeal. The bank has not explained why it sent the closure letter in the first place, what the "review" found, or why the decision was reversed.
The letter itself offers no specifics. It cites no compliance concern, no suspicious activity, no contractual violation. It simply announces the bank's decision and tells the customer to deal with it.
RawHide's experience fits a broader pattern that has drawn federal attention. President Trump has ordered probes into banks that "debank" customers based on political beliefs or so-called "reputation risk." Trump himself has sued JP Morgan Chase for allegedly closing his accounts after the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Bank of America is reportedly in the crosshairs of federal investigators examining similar practices.
The timing of RawHide's closure letter is worth noting. December 29, 2020, the date on the letter, fell during a period of intense political polarization. The effective closure date, January 29, 2021, came just days after Joe Biden's inauguration and weeks after the Capitol riot. Whether those events had any bearing on the bank's decision is unknown. RawHide says it doesn't know. Bank of America says politics played no part.
But the company was making a film about Ronald Reagan. The cast included Dennis Quaid in the title role, Penelope Ann Miller as Nancy Reagan, Jon Voight as a KGB agent, and Mena Suvari as Jane Wyman, Reagan's first wife. The subject matter was not ambiguous. Neither was the audience.
"Reagan" went on to earn a 98% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics were less generous, the film scored just 18% with reviewers. The Academy of Motion Pictures did not nominate it for Best Picture consideration. In 2025, the film was awarded Best Western Film, Drama.
A director's cut with 10 extra minutes of footage is scheduled for wider re-release on September 25 in 600 theaters, timed to coincide with America's 250th anniversary.
Hopton described the debanking as "one of many obstacles we faced in releasing our film." He did not elaborate on the others.
The film draws its spirit from Reagan's most famous role before the presidency, his portrayal of George Gipp in the 1940 film "Knute Rockne, All American." Gipp, gravely ill, reportedly asked coach Knute Rockne to tell the team to "Win just one for the Gipper." Reagan carried the nickname for the rest of his public life.
Several questions hang over this episode. Bank of America has not disclosed what its "review" of the RawHide relationship actually found. It has not said who initiated the review or what criteria triggered it. It has not explained why, if the closure was justified, it later reversed course on appeal.
RawHide, for its part, says it has no idea. The company sat on the story for years before confirming it in response to a press inquiry. Whether other production companies, particularly those working on projects with conservative themes, faced similar treatment from major banks remains an open question.
The federal investigations now underway may eventually produce answers. For now, the documented facts are straightforward: a company was making a movie about Ronald Reagan, and its bank decided, without explanation, to show it the door.
When the product is a film and the subject is a Republican president, "we don't close accounts for political reasons" is a statement that deserves more than a press release. It deserves proof.
