<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A conservative policy powerhouse is calling for changes to financial rules that allow the government to pressure banks into cutting ties with groups they find ideologically objectionable.</span></p>
<p>The America First Policy Institute&#8217;s Center For American Prosperity on Wednesday <a href="https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/issues/debanked-when-political-bias-trumps-financial-judgment">released</a> &#8220;Debanked: When Political Bias Trumps Financial Judgment.&#8221; The white paper <span style="font-weight: 400;">outlines five proposals that the authors say would stop government regulators from weaponizing their influence over banks to further their political agendas.</span></p>
<p>Debanking &#8220;creates a de facto blacklist of people and organizations that have lost access to banking services and have significant difficulty regaining access to banking,&#8221; <span style="font-weight: 400;">Jill Homan, Deputy Director of Trade and Economic Policy, and David Vasquez, Senior Policy Analyst for Energy &amp; Environment at AFPI, write in the report.</span></p>
<p>&#8220;Debanking creates uncertainty and hardship. In a nation governed by laws, the practice of legal coercion through regulatory discretion is antithetical to the American system of justice,&#8221; the authors add.</p>
<p>&#8220;Ultimately, debanking is not just an economic problem, but a constitutional one. When federal officials use unofficial “guidance” to achieve what Congress never authorized, they violate both the spirit and letter of the law. The solution is to excise power from the regulators, and that begins with narrowing their discretion.&#8221;</p>
<p>President Donald Trump made a similar point earlier this year.</p>
<p>“The regulators control the banks,&#8221; Trump said in June. &#8220;It’s not the president of the bank. The president of the bank is far less important to a bank than a regulator, and a regulator can put that bank out of business.”</p>
<p>Debanking reached a fever pitch in 2013, when the Obama Justice Department launched <span style="font-weight: 400;">“Operation Choke Point.&#8221; Under the operation, the Justice Department targeted “companies believed to be at a high risk for fraud and money laundering.&#8221; In reality, Choke Point involved government officials pressuring banks to cut ties with firearms dealers and other businesses the Obama administration deemed intolerable. </span>The Biden administration continued its debanking efforts with <a href="https://financialservices.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=409457">Operation Choke Point 2.0</a>, an effort to target the cryptocurrency industry.</p>
<p>In addition to the firearms and crypto industries, religious groups and conservative organizations have also been frequent targets of government-run debanking.</p>
<p>The authors suggest a number of policy tweaks that could prevent future debanking efforts. They urge Congress to pass the <span style="font-weight: 400;">Financial Integrity and Regulation Management Act, which would “remove the subjective criteria of &#8216;reputational risk&#8217; which bank regulators use to evaluate a financial institution. … Instead, financial regulators would rely entirely on objective criteria to assess financial soundness.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The law would also restrict the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation from judging a financial institution’s trustworthiness on the “competency of bank management,” which is evaluated based on the risk regulators believe the institution is exposed to, based on the businesses it serves.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The authors also call for a uniform “Federal Fair Access” standard that would “end the need for states to develop separate debanking legislation that further complicates banking operations with a patchwork of inconsistent and conflicting state laws.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A requirement to notify customers and explain the reasoning ahead of a decision by a financial institution to end its relationship with someone would increase transparency. Modernizing old regulations would also mitigate problems brought about by using a 1970s legal framework in the present-day financial environment.</span></p>
<p>&#8220;Whether the result of politically driven regulators abusing their authority or bad policies, this administration and Congress have an opportunity to dramatically curb the practice of government-driven debanking across the country through federal action,&#8221; the authors conclude. &#8220;Doing so involves reducing subjectivity and instituting these changes into law.&#8221;</p>

<script async src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script><div data-widget-host="revcontent" data-pub-id="165152" data-widget-id="290588"></div><script src="https://delivery.revcontent.com/165152/290588/widget.js"></script>

Conservative Group Calls For Lawmakers To Fight Government-Driven ‘Debanking’

Trump Says Netflix Should Fire ‘Racist, Trump Deranged’ Susan Rice

Trump Orders Release Of ‘Any And All’ Info On Aliens And UFOs

Man Targets DHS Building With Stolen Ambulance In Attempted Arson Attack

Bill Gates Drops Out Of Keynote Speech Last Minute As Epstein Rumors Swirl

Trump Left The World Health Org Last Year. Now, He’s Replacing It.

One Of The CDC’s Biggest Critics Is Now In Charge Of The Whole Thing

Exclusive

America First

Banking

Censorship

Cryptocurrency

finance

Guns

Obama Administration

A video goes viral showing a baby being refused his mother by two gay "dads". This is just the tip of the iceberg, which is why we will have an important discussion today about surrogacy. 

Hour 1

The Matt Walsh Show

Ep. 1765 - This Video Is One Of The Worst Things I've Seen In A Long Time 

The Strait of Hormuz officially opens for business (kind of), the Pope makes “shocking” comments on immigration, and President Trump promises UFO disclosure at TPUSA. 


The Michael Knowles Show

Ep. 1956 -  Pope Leo's "SHOCKING" Immigration Comments EXPLAINED

A false miscreed has corrupted our leadership class.


The Andrew Klavan Show

Ep. 1275 - Dumb, Dumber and Progressive

President Trump announces a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, a murder-suicide involving former Democratic Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax shakes Virginia, and France and Britain hold a conference to secure the Strait of Hormuz – after the Iranian conflict ends. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.

- - -

Ep. 2738

- - -

Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3

- - -

Today's Sponsors:

Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text 'WIRE' to 83848 to learn more.

Pocket Hose - Text MORNING to 64000 to get a FREE pocket pivot and their 10-pattern sprayer with the purchase of ANY size Copper Head hose. Message and data rates may apply.

Morning Wire

U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26

U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26 [Member Exclusive]

A ceasefire goes into effect between Israel and Lebanon, a tragic murder-suicide rocks Virginia, and Dairy Queen deploys AI in the drive-thru. Get the facts first with Evening Wire.
- - -
Ep. 2737
- - -
Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3 
- - -
Today’s Sponsor:

Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text “WIRE” to 83848 to learn more.


Evening Wire: Lebanon Ceasefire Begins & Murder-Suicide Rocks VA | 4.16.26

The Pendragon Cycle

Menu

— Exclusive —

Conservative Group Calls For Lawmakers To Fight Government-Driven ‘Debanking’