Imagine being a law-abiding owner of a gun shop and suddenly finding yourself unable to obtain critical financial services. Then imagine the companies telling you “No” are not considering your profit-and-loss numbers but rather discriminating against your business on purely political grounds.
That was the case until recently, as Wall Street firms routinely closed their doors to Second Amendment-related businesses. There is now legislation against such practices and an executive order probing such acts—with results referred to the attorney general.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) wants names.
Firms withheld vital services from clients over political issues
The DOJ subpoenaed major financial institutions, demanding details of individuals and companies who were “debanked.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, officials want explanations on why customers suddenly had to resort to other lenders and financial service providers who likely charge higher rates than the corporate giants.
An OCC report in December found that the top nine U.S. banks discriminated against clients for reasons unrelated to their financial strength. Besides the weapons industry, institutions denied products and services to the oil, gas, and coal industries, as well as to adult entertainment companies.
There may be a price paid for Wall Street discrimination
To lump constitutionally protected businesses and the vital U.S. energy sector in with table dancing is an indefensible stretch, even for Wall Street.
In April, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) ended the nebulous “reputational risk” explanation for denying services with a new Final Rule.
As mom-and-pop gun shops struggled to survive without the lifeblood of their businesses, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dixon flatly denied such practices.
“People have to grow up here, ok, and stop making things up and stuff like that,” Dimon told Fox News. “I can’t talk about an individual account. We do not…debank people for religious or political affiliations.”
The evidence shows otherwise, and the DOJ’s subpoena may signal that a day of reckoning is coming.
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