Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that a proposed executive order requiring banks to collect citizenship information from customers is currently "in process," according to an interview with Semafor this week.

Speaking to the outlet on Monday, Bessent defended the potential requirement, stating he does not view it as unreasonable. "Why don't we have information on who's in our banking system?" the Treasury Secretary said during the interview.

The executive order, if implemented, would mark a significant change in banking regulations and customer data collection requirements. Banks would be required to gather and maintain citizenship status information as part of their customer identification processes.

Bessent's comments provide the first official confirmation from a senior Trump administration official that such an order is being actively developed. The Treasury Secretary did not provide a timeline for when the order might be completed or implemented.

The proposed requirement would affect how financial institutions handle customer onboarding and data management, though specific details about implementation and compliance mechanisms have not been disclosed.