Kerby Anderson
The procedure of de-banking is a problem that needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, the problem is often ignored because leaders of financial institutions maintain they do not deny banking services to individuals because of their political views.
In previous commentaries, I have talked about how Nigel Farage lost access to banking services in the UK, which he believed was due to his previous involvement in Brexit. I’ve quoted Marc Andreesen, who in a Joe Rogan interview said he knew 30 tech company founders who have been de-banked within the past four years.
Fortunately, I have some good news. Lathan Watts (Vice President of Alliance Defending Freedom) was on my radio program to talk about his article that describes how they have “Won a Major Victory Against De-Banking.” After a series of negotiations with attorneys, “JPMorgan Chase agreed to adopt language in its code of conduct that protects against political and religious de-banking.”
In the interview, we talked about some of the action behind the scenes. Two years ago, 19 state attorneys general and 14 state financial officers sent letters calling on Chase to provide transparency on the cancellations.
Also, financial adviser David Bahnsen (who has been on my radio program) filed a shareholder resolution urging Chase to do the same. Even though the CEO of Chase denies they punish accountholders for their political or religious views, he probably wanted to avoid the need to respond to that shareholder resolution.
At the same time, Tennessee lawmakers adopted a first-of-its-kind law prohibiting viewpoint-based de-banking. Other legislatures are considering similar legislation.
If this trend continues, the problem of de-banking may soon be relegated to the past as a relic of financial institutional discrimination.