15 State Officials Warn Bank of America About ‘De-Banking’ Christians

A group of fifteen financial officials from thirteen states sent a message to Bank of America expressing concern about the institution’s de-banking of Christians.

“We are writing to express our concerns about Bank of America’s disturbing record of politicized de-banking. Bank of America’s debanking policies and practices threaten the company’s financial health, its reputation with customers, our nation’s economy and the civil liberties of everyday Americans,” officials wrote in an April 18 letter to CEO Brian Moynihan from Bank of America.

“We are particularly concerned about Bank of America’s record of discrimination against religious ministries. Notable examples include the Memphis-based charity Indigenous Advance Ministries, the Timothy Two Project, and Christian author and speaker Lance Wallnau.

In April 2023, Bank of America closed the account of Indigenous Advance Ministries, which works with groups in the African country of Uganda to provide care and education to orphans and at-risk children. The bank closed the accounts of a Memphis church that donated to the organization.

Bank of America gave “vague reasons” for closing these accounts, claiming that the organization’s activities exceeded the institution’s “risk tolerance” and that it no longer wanted to serve its “type of business.”

‘Months later – after confrontation with an international media organization – the bank subsequently claimed that it had closed the accounts because the for-profit was engaged in ‘debt collection’. Neither Indigenous Advance Ministries nor the church collect debts, nor was the bank able to point to any policy prohibiting account holders from engaging in such activities,” the letter said.

“In other words, that reasoning was a ruse, and even if it were legitimate, it would only apply to one of the closed accounts.”

In 2020, the bank closed the account of Timothy Two Project International, which trains pastors in more than 65 countries. In a letter to the group, the bank claimed the closure was due to Timothy Two operating “a type of business that we do not intend to serve.”

The financial institution also froze the accounts of author Mr Wallnau, suspecting him of money laundering. However, the bank has not provided any evidence to support such allegations.

While the bank eventually unblocked the account, they demanded that Mr. Wallnau answer a series of invasive questions.

“This pattern of religious de-banking strongly suggests that systemic causes of religious and political bias may be at work within Bank of America,” the letter said.

“An objective indicator of such a problem is the bank’s blatantly low score on the Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index, the key metric for measuring companies’ respect for freedom of expression and religious freedom. Bank of America scored a paltry 8 percent of a possible 100 percent.”

The letter pointed out that Bank of America’s vague terms of service allow them to deny service due to political or religious views. For example, the company’s policy says it can refuse service to customers deemed to “promote intolerance… or hatred.”

This policy could be used by the bank against customers who express certain views protected by the First Amendment, the officials wrote.

“Bank of America funds and partners with anti-free speech organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign and the Center for American Progress, while preventing employees from giving to faith-based groups in their employee gift match program.”

Bank of America, the nation’s second-largest bank and recipient of numerous government subsidies, is required to ensure equal market access for all Americans and “not play politics,” officials wrote.

The letter was written by officials from Alabama, Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah.

They demanded that the institution implement certain recommendations, including removing “existing discriminatory terms” that relate to customers, updating its terms of service with a pledge not to discriminate on the basis of religion or politics, and participating in a study to assess how the bank’s policy affects the civil liberties of its customers.

The Epoch Times contacted the bank for comment.

De-banking Conservatives

The issue of de-banking conservatives has been a hot topic in recent years. A November 2022 statement signed by 60 financial professionals alleged that banks such as JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Capital One and Morgan Stanley were guilty of political or religious discrimination.

“JP Morgan Chase refused to process payments for an organization affiliated with the Republican Party,” the report said. In addition, the bank “closed the account of the National Committee for Religious Freedom without explanation and demanded that the nonprofit organization disclose its donors and provide a list of the political candidates it plans to support as a condition of resuming service.” ”

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley refused to do business with organizations that raised “important human rights, environmental, health and safety or social responsibility issues.”

Similarly, credit giant Visa mandated that merchants not use its services in a manner deemed “hateful.”

“What these vague, unspecified terms mean in practice is subject to the arbitrary interpretation of each of your companies, or any of the thousands of employees charged with enforcing them,” the statement said.

“These types of policies put customers at risk of being ‘debanked’ simply because a company employee disagrees with their position on a number of controversial social issues.”

Meanwhile, states are taking action to end the banking industry’s financial discrimination against conservatives.

Earlier this year, Iowa introduced Senate Bill 3094, which would prohibit financial institutions from discriminating against customers based on a “social credit score.”

The bill defines “social credit score” as any evaluation of a person’s “speech, religious practice, association, expression, or conduct protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.”

If a financial institution is found to be violating the law, the attorney general can file a civil suit against the institution. A court may order the institution to pay damages, restitution or other compensation.

In February, state Rep. Jason Zachary (R-Tenn.) introduced a similar bill in Tennessee. “This legislation would prohibit our nation’s 20 largest banks from denying financial services to Tennesseans based on political views, religious beliefs or social credit score,” he said during a hearing of the state House Banking and Consumer Affairs Committee.

From the time of the era