AMAC Supports Mississippi Bill to Prevent Big Bank Bias Against Conservatives

The bill prevents financial institutions from denying access to money or critical financial services due to a person’s or organization’s religious or political beliefs.

February 20, 2024

The Honorable John A. Polk
Mississippi Senate District 44
Mississippi State Capitol, Room 212-C
Post Office Box 1018
Jackson, MS 39215

Dear Senator Polk,

On behalf of the over 2.1 million members of AMAC – Association of Mature American Citizens, including over 19,000 residing in Mississippi, I write to urge your support of the Equality in Financial Services Act, SB 2118.

Access to financial services is a basic necessity for Mississippi’s citizens. The clothes on our back, the food on our tables, the roofs over our heads, the ability to support our communities through charity — these all rely on being able to access your hard-earned dollars. However, ideological activists are engaging in religious and political discrimination, and their tool is denying consumers access to money and critical financial services. This practice – known as de-banking – is putting citizens’, businesses’, and non-profits’ ability to participate in the marketplace in jeopardy.

Banks are using “reputational risk” or similarly vague policies to deny service to discriminate against gun manufacturers, distributors, and sellers; fossil fuel producers; contractors for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency; and private prisons and related services. This abuse of vague terms of service now extends to discrimination based on a client’s political or religious views. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, PayPal, Wells Fargo, and others have closed the accounts of mainstream conservative and religious groups under the guise of “reputational risk” policies or prohibitions on “misinformation” or “intolerance.”

In 2023, Bank of America closed the long-standing bank account of Indigenous Advance Ministries, a Christian nonprofit that helps impoverished widows and children in Uganda. The bank also closed the accounts of a local church that donates to the ministry. The bank told the ministries it would no longer serve their “business type” and that Indigenous Advance exceeded the “bank’s risk tolerance.” It did this right before a mission trip to Uganda, so Indigenous Advance struggled to quickly change accounts. It couldn’t pay its Ugandan workers, who often live meal to meal, for several weeks. And it had to reduce aid to many of its ministry partners while there.

PayPal, too, has discriminated against numerous groups, including parental rights group Moms for Liberty, for seeming political reasons. In 2022, it tried to fine users for “misinformation” but swiftly reversed course after public backlash.

These are just some of the many victims of de-banking.

This is precisely the discrimination that SB 2118 is designed to prevent.

No American should fear losing access to financial services because of their deeply held religious or political
beliefs. Unfortunately, viewpoint-based de-banking has become a widespread issue.

Banks that are too big to fail are too big for bias. Mississippi’s bill regulates only large banks and payment
processors, who are often the worst perpetrators of de-banking.

We thank you in advance for your thoughtful consideration of this bill, and welcome further conversation on
this crucial issue.

Sincerely,
Bob Carlstrom
President
AMAC Action