These Big Banks Have Been Freezing Accounts This Year

Big banks have been freezing accounts all year, and for a variety of reasons all different from one another.

In June, Goldman Sachs was making it difficult for Apple customers to withdraw money from their savings accounts.

The bank had given customers the runaround at some point suggesting to simply give it a few days.

But even this case didn’t hit customers as hard as JPMorgan’s scandal where the bank had allegedly begun freezing accounts due to “discrimination”.

The letter, which has now been published by the Wall Street Journal, states that JPMorgan has repeatedly discriminated against customers based on their religious or political beliefs.

“It is clear that JPMorgan Chase & Co. (Chase) has persistently discriminated against certain customers due to their religious or political affiliation.

This discrimination is unacceptable.

Chase must stop such behavior and align its business practices with the anti-discrimination policies that Chase proclaims.”

Republican attorneys general from 19 states said in late May that the bank was “persistently” discriminating against its own clients and closing bank accounts without warning.

The bank had abruptly closed down NCRF’s account, a ‘nonpartisan, faith-based nonprofit organization dedicated to defending the right of everyone in America to live one’s faith freely.’

When NCRF inquired about the reason Chase closed the account, multiple bank employees stated that the decision came from the ‘corporate office.’ 

NYC Began to Freeze New Bank Deposits at Capital One

In May of this year, The New York City (NYC) Banking Commission began freezing new bank deposits at Capital One (NYSE:COF) and KeyBank.

Following the first-ever public hearing held by the New York City Banking Commission that month, all three members voted to freeze deposits at Capital One and KeyBank after the banks failed to submit required plans demonstrating their efforts to root out discrimination.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, one of three members of the Commission, also voted against designating three other banks to hold public funds: International Finance Bank, PNC Bank, and Wells Fargo, per New York City’s Comptroller press release.

“Banks seeking to do business with New York City must demonstrate that they will be responsible managers of public funds and responsible actors in our communities,” said Comptroller Brad Lander. 

“Unfortunately, despite several opportunities to do so, five banks failed to comply with the New York City Banking Commission’s designation process – leaving us to conclude that they are not taking meaningful actions to combat discrimination in their operations and are not responsible stewards of public dollars.

I’m grateful to the Mayor, Finance Commissioner Niblack, Treasurer Jackman, Banking Commission Member Jenerette, and our partners at the Department of Finance for working with us to strengthen oversight over the banks that profit from public funds.”

Capital One, which held $7.2 million in City deposits at the end of April across 108 accounts, and KeyBank, which held $10 million in City deposits at the end of April across three accounts, outright refused to submit required policies.

Representatives for Mayor Adams and Department of Finance Commissioner Preston Niblack joined the Comptroller in voting to freeze new deposits in Capital One and KeyBank for up to two years.

Bank of America is Freezing Bank Accounts in New Scandal

In July, it was reported that Bank of America had begun freezing bank accounts and closing down accounts linked to Coinbase.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong took conducted a poll after a user said their Bank of America account had been closed for no apparent reason after a 15-year run.

The Bank of America customer stated that they do Coinbase transactions directly from the bank.

“This is a war on Bitcoin & crypto”, they said on Twitter.

At the time of this publication, more than 1,400 users voted to have been affected by a similar or same occurrence.

“Closed my account with them in 2010 after 10yrs. Worst bank I ever had,” said one user.

“Following the recent lawsuits by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against major crypto players Binance and Coinbase, banking institutions have grown cautious about engaging with these firms,” says Coinpedia.

But this isn’t Bank of America’s first rodeo in violating its customers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Tuesday that an investigation found that Bank of America harmed hundreds of thousands of customers across multiple product lines over a period of several years through a series of illegal practices.

Bank of America is paying a whopping $250 million fine for double charging insufficient fund fees and opening new accounts without customer’s knowledge or consent.

While not everyone may be experiencing Bank of America freeze or close their bank accounts relating to crypto, it’s undoubtly a mess for those who are.

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