Bank Of America Nixes Rule That Led To 'Debanking’ Of Conservative Religious Groups

Bank of America has ended a policy that led to the debanking of charities and businesses linked to conservative religious groups.

The change, made in late June, removed language from the bank’s code of conduct that had permitted account closures based on a customer’s religious “viewpoint,” the NY Post reports. A Bank of America spokesman said the revision followed feedback from “a range of stakeholders” and that religious beliefs “are not a factor in any account closing decision.” The bank serves about 120,000 nonprofits associated with religious organizations nationwide.

„While we have been very clear that politics is not a factor in our decisions, we received thoughtful input from a range of stakeholders and agreed it is best to explicitly add that to our Code of Conduct,” a spokesman said. „Religious views are not a factor in any account closing decision. Bank of America is proud to provide services to about 120,000 non-profits associated with religious organizations around the country.”

The decision comes amid ongoing scrutiny from conservative activists and political figures over what they describe as politically motivated account terminations. President Donald Trump has accused Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase of refusing him banking services after his first term ended in 2021, an action that some insiders told the Post occurred under pressure from the Biden administration following the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Critics have linked such denials to a federal regulatory concept known as “reputational risk,” which allows banks to refuse service over concerns about potential harm to their image. In recent years, some financial institutions applied similar standards to religious viewpoints, including opposition to same-sex marriage, categorizing them as hate speech. Most major banks, including JPMorgan Chase, dropped the “viewpoint” language in 2023. Bank of America had been the last large holdout.

The revision marks a victory for Jerry Bowyer, chief executive of Bowyer Research, who has campaigned against what he calls “religious debanking” since 2022. Bowyer said he became aware of Bank of America’s policy after the bank closed an account belonging to an evangelical church in Tennessee, citing its ties to a debt collection business in Uganda. The church maintained the enterprise provided employment in an impoverished region. Bowyer said that repeated attempts to persuade the bank to change its policy had been unsuccessful — until now.

„We met with them several times about this and asked them to change the language and they refused; they just blew us off,” Bowyer said, unaware that the rule had been changed a few weeks ago.

“Better late than never,” Bowyer said when informed of the change.

The policy shift also follows an executive order issued by Trump prohibiting financial institutions from denying services based on vague or politically charged considerations. While JPMorgan Chase has maintained that it does not refuse customers for political or religious affiliations, Bank of America’s new language now explicitly aligns with that position.

Some Trump-aligned businesses and sectors like cryptocurrency have also reported experiencing account terminations in recent years, underscoring broader tensions between banks and clients in politically contentious industries.

h/t Capital.news