Bank of America is now being accused of religious discrimination after evidence surfaced it denied its services to specific customers.
The treasurer of Louisiana is calling for Bank of America to be blocked from handling state government deposits due to reports that the institution is “deliberately denying banking services” to religious customers.
BofA is of course denying the allegations claiming that it has tens of thousands of faith-based clients throughout the country as well as grants and funding it distributes to numerous religious organizations.
Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming said in a statement on Monday that the financial institution should “not be approved as an authorized fiscal agent in the state of Louisiana.”
The state code identifies “fiscal agent banks” as those being used “for the deposit of funds belonging to any state depositing authority.”
Fleming in his statement pointed to “evidence that Bank of America is deliberately denying banking services to customers and potential customers” in part due to their religious beliefs, a process known as “de-banking.”
The treasurer cited a November 2023 article published at the Washington Examiner that alleged Bank of America had de-banked two Christian groups: the pastoral training initiative Timothy Two Project International and the Ugandan-focused aid group Indigenous Advance Ministries.
The bank allegedly told both groups they were a type of business the institution had “chosen not to service.”
“No American should be denied access to banking services or face discrimination because of their political viewpoints, party affiliation, religious beliefs, or occupation,” Fleming said in his statement.
Fleming said the bank’s approval as a fiscal agent “was not recommended to the Interim Emergency Board.”
Under state law that board selects the fiscal agents via resolution.
Jeff Crouere, a spokesman for the treasurer’s office, said the board followed Fleming’s recommendation, taking it into serious consideration.
Bank of America “regularly partners with religious nonprofits, including Catholic Charities, to meet needs in the communities we serve,” a spokesperson told the Catholic News Agency.
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Also Read: The US Treasury Direct is Now Freezing Customer Accounts
Other Banking News Today
Massive US banks now prepare for millions to default according to Q2 reports, as institutions increase capital to cover insolvencies.
Big banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo are boosting their financial defenses as they prepare for customer inflow to dwindle, affecting the ability for the average American to pay their bills.
According to the latest Q2 2024 financial reports from major banks, they are significantly increasing the amount of capital they are setting aside to cover potential losses from rising credit card and loan defaults.
Collectively, these banks are allocating billions of dollars into emergency provisions and loan loss reserves to prepare for an anticipated increase in insolvencies and non-performing loans.
This reflects the banks’ growing concerns about the potential for a rise in credit card delinquencies and loan defaults in the coming months.
By bolstering their loss-absorbing capital buffers, the banks are attempting to proactively mitigate the financial risks posed by a potential surge in credit-related delinquencies and insolvencies.
This suggests the banks foresee a deterioration in consumer credit quality and are taking prudent steps to strengthen their balance sheets and resilience against such adverse credit trends.
The significant increase in these emergency loan loss provisions across the banking sector signals that the institutions are bracing for a potential economic downturn that could lead to a rise in loan defaults and credit-related write-offs.
This move underscores the banks’ efforts to position themselves to better withstand any upcoming challenges in the credit markets.
JPMorgan Chase is leading the way, increasing its provisions from $1.88 billion in the first quarter of this year to $3.05 billion – a $1.17 billion jump.
Meanwhile, Bank of America has set aside $1.5 billion, up from $1.3 billion in the previous quarter, and Wells Fargo set aside $1.24 billion, up from $938 million in the previous quarter.
The increasing balances show banks are anticipating increasing economic risk in the months ahead as commercial real estate flounders and as consumers pile up a whopping $1.02 trillion in credit card balances, according to TransUnion.
Delinquency rates across various types of debt are already on the rise, and the New York Federal Reserve says total US household debt hit $17.69 trillion in the first quarter of this year, an increase of $184 billion from the previous quarter.
The number includes mortgage balances, which rose by $190 billion to $12.44 trillion, and auto loans, which increased by $9 billion to $1.62 trillion.
Also Read: A Massive US Bank is Now Closing Credit Cards
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