On Tuesday, Moody&#8217;s reduced the credit ratings of ten regional American <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/banks">banks</a> while threatening to downgrade many other bigger banks.
The ten banks targeted by Moody’s included Amarillo National Bancorp, BOK Financial, Commerce Bancshares, Fulton Financial, M&amp;T Bank, Old National Bancorp, Pinnacle Financial Partners, Prosperity Bancshares, and Webster Financial.  Shares of the major banks JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo plunged as a result.
Moody&#8217;s Investors Service revealed it would review the ratings of six other institutions, including Bank of New York Mellon, Northern Trust, State Street, and US Bancorp. In addition, Moody’s assigned a negative outlook to 11 other banks, The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-markets-dow-news-08-08-2023-f2a80b95?mod=hp_lead_pos2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The Dow Jones Industrial average plunged 3.75%.
“Many banks&#8217; second-quarter results showed growing profitability pressures that will reduce their ability to generate internal capital,&#8221; Moody&#8217;s <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/moodys-downgrades-10-us-banks-warns-possible-cuts-others-2023-08-08/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said.</a> &#8220;This comes as a mild U.S. recession is on the horizon for early 2024 and asset quality looks set to decline, with particular risks in some banks’ commercial real estate (CRE)portfolios.&#8221;
&#8220;U.S. banks&#8217; Q2 earnings showed material increases in funding costs as well as profitability pressures related to the significant and rapid tightening in monetary policy and inverted yield curve, which will continue to lower profitability and implies a weaker ability to generate capital internally,&#8221; Moody&#8217;s analysts added.
“What we&#8217;re doing here is recognizing some headwinds &#8211; we&#8217;re not saying that the banking system is broken,” Ana Arsov, managing director of financial institutions at Moody&#8217;s, stated. “This is largely a profitability story — we are not raising major concerns that the system is majorly undercapitalized or underfunded.”
The net interest margins of bank, which are the difference between interest the banks earn on loans and the interest depositors earn, have been affected because of the release of non-interest bearing deposits that were triggered by the 2023 financial situation, Investopedia <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/moody-s-downgrades-credit-ratings-for-10-banks-puts-six-others-on-notice-7571278#citation-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>, adding that most banks are troubled by high loan-to-deposit ratios, which could leave them vulnerable to insufficient liquidity.
In May, First Republic Bank failed, the biggest bank to fail since Washington Mutual in 2008, which was the largest bank failure in U.S. history.

In this photo illustration, the Moody’s Corporation logo is

Moody’s Slashes Credit Ratings Of Regional Banks, Sees Recession In 2024

Banks

Economy

Moody's

One of the U.K.’s largest banks <a href="https://talk.tv/news/23195/metro-bank-refuses-to-open-account-for-gender-critical-parents-nigel-farage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">refused</a> to open an account with a conservative parent group because of its stances on gender ideology, the group claims.
Metro Bank, Britain’s seventh largest bank, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12264723/Metro-Bank-blocks-gender-critical-parents-opening-account-signing-Stonewall-scheme.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">would not</a> open a business account for <a href="https://ourduty.group/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Our Duty</a>, an international network of over 2,000 parents that advocates against gender transitions for minors, according to the organization’s founder Keith Jordan.
“The content of your website conflicts with the culture and ideas we are pushing,” a Metro Bank employee <a href="https://twitter.com/OurDutyGrp/status/1676183710620590083" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allegedly</a> told the organization. “The bank has staff networks for diversity and inclusion including for LGBTQ staff.”
“The bank was making it patently clear that they consider only one worldview to be valid. If it were truly a champion of diversity and inclusion, it would accept our diverse views and be keen to include us,&#8221; the organization responded. “It seems that Our Duty is the latest casualty in the LGBTQ+ staff networks&#8217; war on differing views.”
On top of the bank&#8217;s reported refusal to open a business account with Our Duty, Jordan said that their existing &#8220;community account&#8221; with Metro Bank is “under review.” The bank told Jordan via email that Our Duty&#8217;s account violated guidelines that forbid community account holders from being &#8220;linked to, or influenc[ing] political policies or legislations,&#8221; The Telegraph <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/07/03/most-high-street-banks-signed-up-stonewall-diversity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Last month, the bank of 2.5 million customers joined the Stonewall <a href="https://www.stonewall.org.uk/join-diversity-champions-programme" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Diversity Champion Program</a>, a controversial scheme that promotes left-wing LGBTQ agenda items in the workplace. In 2021, the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-59232736" target="_blank" rel="noopener">left</a> the program over concerns that the publication could not be neutral in public debates due to its affiliation with Stonewall.
Metro Bank’s alleged denial comes amid <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12262157/Equalities-chief-fathers-rights-charity-UKIP-councillor-claim-bank-accounts-shut.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> of British banks shutting the accounts of people based on their political or moral views, including an equalities commissioner, fathers’ rights charity, and UKIP councilor.
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) recently shut down the account of Scotland’s Equality and Human Rights Commissioner Dr. Lesley Sawers, who works on women’s and LGBT issues. Sawers’ husband claimed RBS told him that she has “a mark against her name.”
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The CEO of Families Needs Fathers, an organization that helps children maintain relationships with both parents after a divorce, told the Daily Mail that HSBC shut down their account in April “without any warning.”
Former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage <a href="https://talk.tv/news/23072/what-is-the-real-reason-coutts-closed-nigel-farages-bank-account" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> that Coutts bank closed his accounts and that nine other banks refused to open accounts with him because of his political views.
The British government is currently <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12258933/Rishi-Sunak-issues-warning-banks-blacklisting-customers-controversial-views.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigating</a> banks for shutting down accounts because of their customers’ views on politics, Brexit, and gender ideology. However, the issue of banks retaliating against its customers for their political views is not limited to the U.K.
According to the Daily Mail, a whistleblower from Santander — an American bank — said that the bank is on a “really toxic path” and has been “policing the political views of their customers.” He also said that LGBT activists pressured the company to close the account of a customer who told the company that “banks shouldn’t support political causes” in reaction to Pride flags at one of Santander’s branches.
In 2022, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau worked with banks to freeze the accounts of those who protested his COVID mandates. According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/14/world/americas/justin-trudeau-emergencies-act-canada.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>, Canadian police officers exchanged protesters’ personal information with banks, and insurance companies were required to revoke coverage for vehicles used in protests.

Sign For Banking Brand Metro Bank

U.K. Bank Refuses To Open Account For Conservative Parent Group: Report

Censorship

Free Speech

gender ideology

General

U.K.

World

Officials in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-york-city" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York City</a> limited account <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deposits</a> on Thursday at Capital One and KeyBank after the financial institutions failed to submit required <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/diversity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">anti-discrimination</a> plans.
The city issued <a href="https://comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/new-york-city-banking-commission-announces-measures-to-ensure-citys-designated-banks-more-accountable-to-the-public2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mandates</a> earlier this year for banks which hold public funds to detail “specific steps to combat different forms of discrimination in their operations.” An <a href="https://comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/new-york-city-banking-commission-votes-to-approve-26-depository-banks-for-two-years-limits-new-deposits-at-capital-one-and-keybank/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> from the office of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander claimed that Capital One and KeyBank “outright refused” to comply with the requirement.
“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,” Lander said in a statement. “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.”
Capital One held $7.2 million in city funds at the end of last month, while KeyBank held $10 million in city funds. Officials voted to freeze new deposits at the two companies for as many as two years, while Lander contended that International Finance Bank, PNC Bank, and Wells Fargo also neglected to comply with the anti-discrimination policies, through which the firms were asked to detail ways in which they avoid “discrimination in branch openings and closings, lending decisions, hiring, and other operations.” The latter firms do not currently hold city funds.
New York City officials received criticism for compelling banks to comply with the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as ESG, which asserts that businesses should leverage their financial power to advance certain social objectives.
Peter Schiff, a stockbroker and financial commentator, <a href="https://twitter.com/PeterSchiff/status/1661845687317741568" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on social media that banks “only discriminate based on competence and credit worthiness” since they are focused on maximizing profits. He said that New York City wants banks to “hire and make loans to minority applicants, even if they are less qualified and more likely to default.”
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Democratic officials have indeed introduced policies which would introduce considerations for personal loans divorced from the debtor’s financial responsibility. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Sandra Thompson, an appointee of President Joe Biden, recently unveiled a policy that will <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-now-punishing-americans-with-high-credit-scores-to-subsidize-certain-homebuyers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">require</a> Americans to pay higher mortgage rates and monthly fees if they have robust credit scores, while those with lower credit scores and smaller down payments will receive better rates. Buyers with credit scores above 680, for instance, would pay an additional $40 each month on a home loan of $400,000, while homebuyers who make down payments between 15% and 20% will receive the largest fees.
Republican state financial officers wrote in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-treasurers-urge-biden-to-end-mortgage-policy-that-penalizes-stable-buyers-to-give-risky-buyers-a-discount" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Biden and Thompson that the move renders home purchases “significantly more expensive” for families with strong credit. “For decades, Americans have been told that they will be rewarded for saving their money and building a good credit score,” they contended. “This policy turns that time-tested principle upside down.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen likewise <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidens-treasury-advisory-committee-on-racial-equity-to-be-led-by-defund-the-police-advocate-former-philadelphia-mayor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched</a> an Advisory Committee on Racial Equity at the end of last year to consider “efforts to advance racial equity in the economy and address acute disparities for communities of color.”

Capital One

New York City Officials Freeze Accounts After Banks Fail To Submit Anti-Discrimination Plans

New York City Officials Freeze Bank Accounts After Companies Fail To Submit Anti-Discrimination Plans

Business

Diversity

New York City

Wokeness

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/jobs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Roles</a> in asset management and <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banking</a> pay much more if they are associated with the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/esg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESG</a>, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/esg-us-finance-job-titles-comes-with-20-pay-premium-2023-05-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from Revelio Labs shared with Reuters.
Skeptics of the ESG movement contend that the investment and business philosophy emphasizes political and social causes, such as decreasing carbon emissions or diversifying company leadership, in a manner that distracts from profitability. The expanding popularity of the movement in corporate circles nevertheless comes with a salary premium: finance roles with ESG in their titles pay an average of more than $110,000, exceeding the $90,000 average pay received by those in finance roles unrelated to ESG.
The analysis from Revelio Labs, which does not consider the bonuses often provided to finance professionals, examined some 28 million publicly available sources for the analysis.
&#8220;Salaries of ESG and non-ESG personnel started to diverge in 2020, in line with the spike in hiring in ESG roles due to the increasing focus on ESG and sustainable investing in the finance sector,&#8221; Loujaina Abdelwahed, an economist at Revelio Labs, said in an interview with Reuters.
There is considerable demand for financial services related to ESG: more than $35 trillion was invested in accordance with the philosophy across the world at the start of 2020, according to an <a href="https://www.gsi-alliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GSIR-20201.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from Global Sustainable Investment Alliance, representing more than one-third of all professionally managed assets in the regions evaluated by the organization.
“Beyond the top line growth in sustainable investment assets, this is an industry that is in transition, with rapid developments across regions that are reshaping sustainable investment to increasingly focus on moving the industry towards best standards of practice,” the report said. “There are expectations that sustainable investment is defined not just by the strategies involved, but by the short and long-term impacts that investors are having from their sustainable investment approach.”
Prominent firms indeed increased the extent to which they publicly engaged on political issues in the wake of the social justice movement which spread across the nation three years ago. Some have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/an-overt-act-of-marketing-leading-bank-increases-quota-for-women-in-senior-roles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adopted</a> public commitments to increase the number of racial minorities and females who are promoted to senior management, implemented <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/united-airlines-pours-millions-into-decarbonizing-air-travel-with-alternative-to-jet-fuel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">efforts</a> to reduce carbon emissions, or <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-analysis-corporate-america-has-donated-82-billion-to-blm-related-causes-so-far" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contributed</a> to activist entities which support racial justice.
Workers have now come to expect that their employers vocally support activist efforts. The most recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/massive-share-of-workers-upset-companies-are-not-calling-out-racism-more-often" target="_blank" rel="noopener">edition</a> of the Edelman Trust Barometer found that 62% of respondents say companies are “doing mediocre or worse living up to their promises and commitments to address racism both within their organization as well as the population.” Some 74% of blacks answered affirmatively, as did 71% of Asians, 66% of Hispanics, and 60% of whites, while a slight majority of Republicans answered affirmatively alongside two-thirds of Democrats.
The elevated prominence of the ESG movement has not occurred without controversy. Republican state lawmakers have implemented a number of efforts to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blackrock-should-lose-permission-to-invest-in-utilities-because-of-esg-pushes-republican-ags-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">divest</a> state funds from companies associated with the investment philosophy, while conservative consumers have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/getting-worse-and-worse-former-anheuser-busch-executive-predicts-bud-light-backlash-is-not-going-away" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shunned</a> popular brands which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anheuser-busch-loses-perfect-lgbtq-equity-score-by-missing-key-moment-to-stand-up-for-mulvaney" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cater</a> to the ideology as they attempt to maintain their scores on ESG indices in order to retain <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/extortion-racket-big-brands-promote-polarizing-personalities-to-boost-cei-score" target="_blank" rel="noopener">access</a> to investment funds.

Wall Street

Woke Finance Positions Pay Much More Than Normal Ones, Report Says

Woke Finance Positions Pay Much More Than Normal Positions

Jobs

Robert Ottenstein, an analyst for investment <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banking</a> advisory firm Evercore, predicted that the backlash against <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bud-light" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bud Light</a> and other brands owned by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/anheuser-busch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anheuser-Busch</a> may have peaked.
Bud Light garnered widespread controversy among conservatives after the brand nodded toward <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/dylan-mulvaney" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dylan Mulvaney</a>, a self-described transgender social media influencer, by sending him a beer can bearing his likeness. Market data <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/05/16/bud-light-sales-plunge-24-in-latest-week-since-dylan-mulvaney-disaster/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">obtained</a> by the New York Post <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bud-light-sales-plummet-for-fifth-straight-week-as-customers-react-against-mulvaney-partnership" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indicate</a> that sales for Bud Light declined 23.6% in the week ended May 6 in comparison to the same period last year, a slightly more severe outcome than the 23.3% decline witnessed for the week ended April 29.
Other brands controlled by Anheuser-Busch have also taken blows: Budweiser sales have declined 11.4% and 9.7% for the weeks ended April 29 and May 6, Michelob Ultra sales have declined 4.3% and 2.9%, and Natural Light sales have declined 5.2% and 2.5%.
Ottenstein said in a research <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ab-inbev-stock-drops-as-analysts-look-for-stabilization-in-bud-light-sales-declines-181740395.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">note</a> shared with Yahoo Finance that a “second week of flattish trends strengthens the possibility that tracked channels have reached a point of stabilization” at significantly lower sales levels. Headwinds for Anheuser-Busch could alternatively be on the mend since some brands “improved sequentially, which is a positive sign that trends impacting the rest of the portfolio may be starting to reverse,” or could indicate that “overall industry strength positively impacted the data” since Molson Coors brands also saw improvements.
The research note from Evercore comes after investment bank HSBC downgraded Anheuser-Busch stock due to the controversy.
“The way this Bud Light crisis came about a month ago, management’s response to it and the loss of unprecedented volume and brand relevance raises many questions,” said Carlos Laboy, HSBC&#8217;s managing director for the global beverage sector. “If Budweiser and Bud Light are iconic American ideas that have long brought consumers together, why did these marketers fail to invite new consumers without alienating the core base of the firm’s largest brand?”
Alissa Heinerscheid, the vice president of marketing at Bud Light who oversaw the Mulvaney partnership, took a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bud-light-marketing-vp-takes-leave-of-absence-amid-dylan-mulvaney-controversy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leave</a> of absence after footage of her criticizing the “fratty” image of the brand circulated online. Daniel Blake, who leads marketing for Anheuser-Busch’s mainstream brands, was also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anheuser-busch-places-another-top-marketing-executive-on-leave-after-bud-light-transgender-controversy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">placed</a> on leave over the incident.
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Executives for Anheuser-Busch have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/one-single-can-anheuser-busch-sends-letter-to-minimize-disastrous-mulvaney-backlash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">downplayed</a> the extent of the partnership and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bud-light-parent-company-taps-lobbyists-to-win-back-conservatives-upset-over-dylan-mulvaney-partnership" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hired</a> veteran Republican lobbyists in efforts to win back conservatives who once consumed the brew. One unnamed executive <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/05/16/bud-light-budweiser-packaging-to-get-redesign-over-dylan-mulvaney-crisis-source/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">informed</a> the New York Post that the company will <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bud-light-budweiser-release-camo-harley-davidson-limited-edition-cans-as-sales-continue-to-plummet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">produce</a> a camouflage Bud Light can as part of an initiative that offers educational scholarships to family members of fallen American military service members and first responders, while Budweiser shared images of a limited edition beer can featuring patterns inspired by Harley-Davidson.
Anheuser-Busch nevertheless appears to have offended those on both ends of the political spectrum: beyond the conservative backlash, leftists and owners of gay bars across the country threatened to launch additional <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/left-wing-activists-furious-at-bud-light-for-backing-away-from-mulvaney-call-for-a-boycott-of-their-own" target="_blank" rel="noopener">boycotts</a> after the firm backed away from Mulvaney.

Budweiser And Bud Light

Most Severe Backlash Against Anheuser-Busch May Already Be Over, Some Brands Turning A Corner, Banker Says

Banker Says Most Severe Backlash Against Anheuser-Busch May Already Be Over, Some Brands Turning A Corner

Anheuser-Busch

Bud Light

Dylan Mulvaney

Social Issues

Transgender

Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $75 million to settle a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lawsuit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> accusing the company of failing to recognize the sex trafficking conducted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jeffrey-epstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeffrey Epstein</a>, the deceased pedophile hedge fund manager who was once a client of the firm.
Lawyers for an alleged Epstein victim, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, filed a lawsuit against Deutsche Bank earlier this year and claimed that the German financial institution knowingly benefited from the Epstein trafficking scheme. Deutsche Bank received most of the Epstein hedge fund’s business after his partnership with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jp-morgan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JPMorgan Chase</a>, the largest investment bank in the United States, concluded in 2013.
Edwards Pottinger, one of the law firms representing the victim and other women, said in a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/deutsche-bank-epstein-lawsuit-settlement-637de5a37de933edfefd9a98832bfa8a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> that the settlement with Deutsche Bank “will allow dozens of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein to finally attempt to restore their faith in our system knowing that all individuals and entities who facilitated Epstein’s sex trafficking operation will finally be held accountable.” Boies Schiller Flexner, another law firm which represents the victims, likewise said that “the scope and scale of Epstein’s abuse, and the many years it continued in plain sight, could not have happened without the collaboration and support of many powerful individuals and institutions.”
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/epstein-victim-allowed-to-sue-big-banks-for-allegedly-enabling-sex-offender-we-will-leave-no-stone-unturned" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tossed</a> most charges against JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank earlier this year in the proposed class action lawsuits from the Epstein accuser, who was joined by officials from the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned an island estate called Little St. James before his apparent suicide in 2019. Lawyers are allowed to contend that the firms benefited from the sex trafficking scheme by providing Epstein with financial services.
“Epstein’s sex trafficking operation was impossible without the assistance of JPMorgan Chase, and later Deutsche Bank, and we assure the public that we will leave no stone unturned in our quest for justice for the many victims who deserved better from one of America’s largest financial institutions,” lawyers for the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Epstein victim previously said.
Epstein worked with JPMorgan Chase between 1998 and 2013 despite pleading guilty to two counts of soliciting prostitution from a teenage girl in 2008.
The disgraced late financier had a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jpmorgan-chase-had-deeper-ties-to-jeffrey-epstein-than-previously-acknowledged-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deeper</a> relationship with employees of the investment bank than the company previously admitted, according to a recent <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/jpmorgan-jeffrey-epstein-525febe3?mod=hp_lead_pos1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The Wall Street Journal. Mary Erdoes, a senior lieutenant to veteran JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, visited Epstein’s townhouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in 2011 and 2013, unnamed people familiar with the matter told the outlet. Erdoes also corresponded with Epstein via email about a charitable fund JPMorgan Chase was seeking to launch.
John Duffy, who formerly led JPMorgan Chase’s private bank, reportedly visited the townhouse in 2013 for a meeting. The company renewed an authorization one month later, permitting Epstein to borrow funds against his account despite multiple warnings from compliance officers. Justin Nelson, a banker who worked with Epstein at JPMorgan Chase, traveled to a New Mexico ranch owned by the pedophile in 2016 and participated in a handful of meetings at the Manhattan townhouse between 2014 and 2017.
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Dimon is scheduled to be deposed behind closed doors this month. Attorneys uncovered communications from employees who mentioned a “Dimon review” into the firm’s relationship with Epstein, according to a <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/f5e7d581-6369-4b0b-92f4-b5fe9a55b2f2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Financial Times based on unnamed sources.
Lawyers for the U.S. Virgin Islands issued a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-virgin-islands-subpoenas-elon-musk-for-docs-in-its-lawsuit-against-jpmorgan-chase-in-epstein-case-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">subpoena</a> against Elon Musk this week for alleged documents related to the legal proceedings against JPMorgan Chase. The Tesla and SpaceX chief executive, who is not accused of wrongdoing, denies that he had any such documents.

Epstein and Maxwell

Big Bank Will Pay Massive Sum To Settle Epstein Victim Lawsuit

Deutsche Bank Will Pay $75 Million To Settle Epstein Victim Lawsuit

Courts

Jeffrey Epstein

JP Morgan

Lawsuit

Veteran <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bank</a> executives are meeting with senior lawmakers and federal officials as the government comes within two weeks of a potential <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/national-debt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">debt</a> default.
The <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/debt-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">debt ceiling</a>, a statute established by <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/congress" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Congress</a> that prevents the government from spending beyond a predetermined national debt limit of $31.4 trillion, exceeded the threshold earlier this year. Treasury Secretary <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/janet-yellen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Janet Yellen</a> said in a <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1483" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> that her agency expects to default on obligations as early as the first day of June unless the debt limit is amended.
Senate Majority Leader <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/chuck-schumer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chuck Schumer</a> (D-NY) hosted a meeting with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser on Wednesday morning, according to a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-17/dimon-fraser-other-bank-ceos-to-meet-schumer-on-debt-limit#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Bloomberg. Dimon informed the outlet that his financial institution created a “war room” that will monitor contingencies should lawmakers fail to make a deal to increase the debt limit.
“I asked them to make sure that they tell everybody that default should not be an option,” Schumer told journalists after the meeting with Dimon and Fraser, according to a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/17/business/bank-ceos-schumer-debt-ceiling/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from CNN. An unnamed source told the outlet that the conversation between Schumer and the executives was “frank,” noting that the lawmaker prompted them to ask every member of Congress to explicitly commit themselves to avoid a default.
A default would likely induce a recession as the federal government, a major borrower of funds that investors around the world generally consider to be reliable, neglects to repay obligations.
The national debt, which now surpasses $31.7 trillion, nevertheless offers persistent financial risk and functions as a damper on long-term economic growth. Elevated interest rates on the national debt have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/interest-payments-on-the-national-debt-on-pace-to-surpass-military-spending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weighed</a> on the budget in recent months as lawmakers are forced to allocate more tax revenue toward servicing the obligations rather than funding federal programs.
The executives are currently in the nation’s capital for an annual Bank Policy Institute summit. Yellen is scheduled to meet with the two executives, as well as Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, on Thursday afternoon.
The meeting with Schumer comes one day after President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) held talks to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-and-mccarthy-make-progress-after-latest-debt-ceiling-talks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discuss</a> possible mechanisms to raise the debt limit. Republicans desire to link a temporary increase in the debt ceiling with spending limits, while Democrats say they prefer separate processes for debt limit negotiations and budget reforms.
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The White House said in a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/05/16/readout-of-president-bidens-meeting-with-congressional-leadership-on-preventing-default/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">readout</a> that the meeting was “productive and direct,” while McCarthy said in his own <a href="https://www.speaker.gov/speaker-mccarthys-reaction-to-todays-meeting-with-the-president/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remarks</a> that “it is possible to get a deal by the end of the week.”
Schumer, Dimon, and Fraser also discussed the failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank, the latter of which JPMorgan Chase <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jpmorgan-chase-the-nations-largest-bank-acquires-first-republic-bank-after-government-takeover" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acquired</a> in a deal brokered by federal regulators. Dimon insisted to reporters that “regional banks are strong.”
The implosion of the three medium-sized banks, where the vast majority of account balances exceeded the $250,000 threshold guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, prompted the government-backed company to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/financial-authorities-announce-buyer-for-collapsed-silicon-valley-bank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">secure</a> insured and uninsured accounts at the first two financial institutions in early March to prevent further bank runs. Other regional banks, such as PacWest and Western Alliance, have witnessed significant <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/regional-bank-stock-plummets-after-company-reveals-deposits-dropped-again" target="_blank" rel="noopener">turmoil</a> in the stock market and increased withdrawal levels in recent weeks.

Jamie Dimon

Major Bank Sets Up ‘War Room’ As Nation Approaches Debt Default

Major Bank Executives Meet With Democrats As Nation Approaches Debt Default

Bank of America

Chuck Schumer

Citigroup

Debt Ceiling

Janet Yellen

National Debt

Politics

Former executives from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/silicon-valley-bank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silicon Valley Bank</a> and Signature Bank told members of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate</a> on Tuesday that their <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">institutions</a> failed as a result of panic from depositors.
The implosion of Silicon Valley Bank, where the vast majority of account balances exceeded the $250,000 threshold backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), prompted the government-backed company to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/financial-authorities-announce-buyer-for-collapsed-silicon-valley-bank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">secure</a> insured and uninsured accounts in early March to prevent additional bank runs. Signature Bank nevertheless collapsed days later, while other regional financial institutions continued to languish, and First Republic Bank, a third medium-sized institution, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jpmorgan-chase-the-nations-largest-bank-acquires-first-republic-bank-after-government-takeover" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sold</a> earlier this month in a deal brokered by regulators.
Former Silicon Valley Bank CEO Greg Becker said in <a href="https://www.banking.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Becker%20Testimony%205-16-23.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remarks</a> before the Senate Banking Committee that the firm was “adequately capitalized” before the sale of a portfolio that had diminished in value due to Federal Reserve actions to increase the target federal funds rate, which in turn raised interest rates across the economy. He added that withdrawals started as Silvergate Bank, a company that served cryptocurrency users, decided to “voluntarily wind down and liquidate,” inducing fears among Silicon Valley Bank depositors.
The comments differed from a landmark <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-reserve-reveals-why-silicon-valley-bank-collapsed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> published last month by the Federal Reserve, which concluded that the implosion of the bank was a “textbook case of mismanagement” as senior leadership “failed to manage basic interest rate and liquidity risk” and board members “failed to oversee senior leadership and hold them accountable.”
Former Signature Bank President Eric Howell meanwhile <a href="https://www.banking.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Howell%20Testimony%205-16-23.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">insisted</a> to lawmakers that his firm was “well-capitalized, solvent, and had sufficient borrowing capacity” before the FDIC seized control of the company. Former Signature Bank Chairman Scott Shay <a href="https://www.banking.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Shay%20Testimony%205-16-23.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a> that the volatility in the cryptocurrency sector likewise translated to panic among the company’s depositors and prompted the rapid withdrawals despite a “solid plan to continue in operation.”
Lawmakers referenced the analysis from the Federal Reserve as they contended that Becker and the other executives should return their executive compensation. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said she filed legislation that would <a href="https://twitter.com/SenWarren/status/1658529112737079296" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confiscate</a> payment from executives who “blow up their banks,” while Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) noted that Silicon Valley Bank had several <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorTimScott/status/1658532908775223298" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open</a> risk management positions at the time of the company’s failure, asserting that managers were “more focused on chasing profitability than stability.”
President Joe Biden previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-calls-for-crackdown-on-senior-bank-executives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that members of Congress should increase federal authority to “hold senior management accountable when their banks fail” or enter into the control of regulators. Current law allows the FDIC to prohibit bank executives from receiving new positions at other banks if they engage in “willful or continuing disregard for the safety and soundness” of their institution; administration officials called on lawmakers to “strengthen this tool by lowering the legal standard for imposing this prohibition,” as well as expand authorization for the FDIC to collect fines “when their actions contribute to the failure of their firms.”
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Other regional banks, such as PacWest and Western Alliance, have witnessed significant turmoil in the stock market and increased withdrawal levels in recent weeks. Nearly half of Americans are presently concerned about the security of their bank deposits, according to a recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/confidence-in-american-banks-is-low-amid-continued-financial-sector-tumult" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a> from Gallup, even as the FDIC will continue backing small accounts.

Elizabeth Warren

Executives Behind Failed Banks Tell Lawmakers Why The Companies Collapsed

Executives Behind Failed Banks Give Their Account Of Why The Companies Collapsed

Congress

Federal Reserve

Senate

Silicon Valley Bank

Sam Brownback, the chair of the National Committee for Religious Freedom, detailed how <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jp-morgan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JPMorgan Chase</a> suddenly cut ties with the nonprofit last year, an experience which occurred despite the financial services behemoth denying ahead of its upcoming <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/wall-street" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shareholder</a> meeting that they have <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">debanked</a> conservative and religious customers.
Chase Bank, the firm’s consumer and commercial subsidiary, drew backlash in recent months for abruptly ending its relationship with the National Committee for Religious Freedom, a “nonpartisan, faith-based nonprofit organization dedicated to defending the right of everyone in America to live one’s faith freely.” The bank account belonging to the entity was nixed three weeks after starting a relationship with Chase, which asked the nonprofit to provide a list of their major donors and their criteria for deciding which candidates they would support.
David Bahnsen, the founder and chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group, accordingly filed a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hedge-fund-manager-will-confront-jpmorgan-chase-shareholders-on-moves-to-de-bank-conservative-and-religious-groups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a> to be presented at the JPMorgan Chase annual shareholder meeting next week demanding that the firm publish an evaluation of how executives oversee risks related to discrimination against clients for their religious and political views.
Board directors for JPMorgan Chase <a href="https://www.jpmorganchase.com/content/dam/jpmc/jpmorgan-chase-and-co/investor-relations/documents/proxy-statement2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recommended</a> that shareholders vote against the measure and claimed the proposal is “based on allegations that are not true,” adding that the company does not “debank people because of their political views, ideas, or religious affiliation.”
Brownback, who formerly served as a senator and governor for the state of Kansas, as well as the United States ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, said in a Thursday <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/19617/000197687823000002/PX14A6G.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">submission</a> to the Securities and Exchange Commission that his experience “says otherwise.”
“Every American needs basic financial services. That is why the government has granted banks, particularly national ones like Chase, significant regulatory privileges,” Brownback wrote. “Politicizing financial services is contrary to those purposes and discourages Americans from exercising their rights to free speech and religious exercise.”
Brownback remarked that he learned the account for the National Committee for Religious Freedom had been shuttered on May 19, 2022, a move which the organization’s local branch could only say was a decision that came from the corporate office. He received a letter one week later, dated May 6, 2022, which said that the company had decided to “end our relationship with you” and did not provide a reason for the decision. Five months later, after Brownback wrote an opinion piece about his experience, Chase sent another letter claiming they had to ask the questions about donors and candidate support criteria in order to “comply with federal banking guidelines to prevent money laundering and terrorism.”
“On its face, this rationale is preposterous,” Brownback continued. “Yet even if the guidelines did apply, regulators do not require banks to do this screening at all.”
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Jeremy Tedesco, senior vice president of corporate engagement at the Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement provided to The Daily Wire that Chase “needs to rebuild trust with its shareholders and clients” and “assure its shareholders and customers that it respects everyone’s freedom to participate in the marketplace.”
Other conservative and religious entities have had similar experiences with Chase: several Republican state attorneys general noted in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jpmorgan-chase-repeatedly-de-banked-conservative-and-religious-groups-republican-state-officials-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> last week that one credit card processor owned by Chase likewise terminated an account belonging to Family Council, a conservative organization that works to strengthen traditional family values, while another firm controlled by Chase refused to serve the political action committee Defense of Liberty.
JPMorgan Chase previously filed a <a href="https://adfmedia.org/press-release/jpmorgan-chase-loses-sec-challenge-must-allow-shareholders-consider-viewpoint" target="_blank" rel="noopener">motion</a> with the Securities and Exchange Commission to exclude the religious liberty resolution submitted by Bahnsen from the shareholder ballot, a move which authorities from the agency rejected.

Chase Bank

JPMorgan Chase Denies They Debanked Religious Groups. Head Of Impacted Nonprofit Responds.

JPMorgan Chase Denies They De-Banked Religious Groups After Accusation

First Amendment

Religion

Religious Freedom

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/stock-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shares</a> for PacWest plummeted on Thursday after the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bank</a> revealed that deposits fell considerably last week amid broader <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concerns</a> with the financial sector.
PacWest, which is based in Beverly Hills, California, and also serves clients in Arizona, Utah, and Texas, witnessed deposits fall 17% between the end of December and the end of March, from $34.0 billion to $28.0 billion, according to a first quarter earnings <a href="https://www.pacwestbancorp.com/news-market-data/news/news-details/2023/PacWest-Bancorp-Announces-Results-for-the-First-Quarter-2023/default.aspx#:~:text=March%2031%2C%202023-,ADJUSTED%20EARNINGS,the%20first%20quarter%20of%202023." target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the company. Another securities <a href="https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1102112/000162828023017382/pacw-20230331.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">release</a> published on Thursday indicated that deposits declined another 9.5% last week, with most of the decreases occurring after news stories on May 4 and May 5 discussed the company’s troubles.
The document noted, however, that the bank maintains immediately available liquidity of $15.0 billion, far exceeding the $5.2 billion in uninsured deposits held at the financial institution.
News of the robust coverage ratio nevertheless failed to prevent investor concerns over the declining deposits: shares for PacWest tumbled more than 25% on Thursday as of the early afternoon, trading at $4.49 relative to $6.08 at market close on Wednesday. Stock prices for the company have therefore dropped more than 83% from the $26.68 seen on March 8, the day before the financial sector tumult.
The renewed pressure on PacWest came in the days after the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jpmorgan-chase-the-nations-largest-bank-acquires-first-republic-bank-after-government-takeover" target="_blank" rel="noopener">implosion</a> of First Republic Bank, a development which occurred weeks after Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank similarly collapsed, as account holders with balances above the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation threshold at the three medium-sized banks rushed to withdraw their funds.
PacWest said in a <a href="https://www.pacwestbancorp.com/news-market-data/news/news-details/2023/Pacific-Western-Bank-Issues-Update/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on May 4 that the company “has not experienced out-of-the-ordinary deposit flows following the sale of First Republic Bank and other news.”
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell insisted at a press <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/mediacenter/files/FOMCpresconf20230503.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conference</a> last week that the banking system is “sound and resilient” even after the volatility in early March and the collapse of First Republic Bank. “We are committed to learning the right lessons from this episode and will work to prevent events like these from happening again,” he commented.
Interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve contributed to the substantial losses incurred by Silicon Valley Bank as executives sold a long-term bond portfolio to cover withdrawals. Assets in the banking system are now $2 trillion lower than their book value as a result of the rate hikes, according to a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/banking-system-is-sound-and-government-will-back-deposits-at-smaller-banks-yellen-promises" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> from analysts at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
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Western Alliance, another regional bank based in Phoenix, Arizona, serves clients throughout the western part of the country and had likewise seen tumult on the stock market after the sale of First Republic Bank. Two people briefed on discussions at Western Alliance claimed in a <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/bf2bd5af-1e55-4be3-b29d-f5cae9533b29" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> for the Financial Times that the firm was considering options such as a full or partial sale, an assertion that the bank called “absolutely false” as a spokesperson contended that the article was “an instrument of short sellers and as a conduit for spreading false narratives about a financially sound and profitable bank.”
Western Alliance confirmed in a <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230511005521/en/Western-Alliance-Bancorporation-Issues-Deposit-Update" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on Thursday that deposits have slightly increased since the beginning of last week while “readily available liquidity is approximately double the amount of uninsured deposits” as of Tuesday. Share prices for the company were relatively flat on Thursday as of the early afternoon, trading at $27.60 relative to the $27.48 closing price on Wednesday, despite a 61% decline from $71.56 on March 8.

PacWest

Regional Bank Stock Plummets After Company Reveals Deposits Dropped Again

PacWest Stock Plummets After Company Reveals Deposits Dropped Again

Recession

Stock Market

U.S.

A major multinational bank downgraded the stock status of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/anheuser-busch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anheuser-Busch</a> amidst the continued fallout from the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/dylan-mulvaney" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dylan Mulvaney</a> partnership controversy.
HSBC downgraded the stock of Anheuser-Busch InBev to a hold status, meaning investors should neither buy nor sell shares of it. In an analysis, Carlos Laboy, managing director for the global beverage sector of HSBC, said that AB InBev had poorly handled its efforts to shift its brand culture in the U.S. AB InBev&#8217;s sales have continued to plummet because of the fallout.
“Is ABI’s leadership getting the brand culture transformation right? It’s mixed,” Laboy wrote in a note that was published on CNBC Wednesday, via the <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/05/10/anheuser-busch-stock-downgraded-over-bud-light-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a>. “At [Brazilian beverage giant] Ambev, we think the answer is ‘yes;’ in the U.S., we think it’s ‘no’,” Laboy wrote.
“The way this Bud Light crisis came about a month ago, management’s response to it and the loss of unprecedented volume and brand relevance raises many questions,” Laboy added. “Why did its US leadership underestimate the risk of pushback given the recent experience of other firms? Is A-B hiring the best people to grow the brands and gauge risk? If Budweiser and Bud Light are iconic American ideas that have long brought consumers together, why did these marketers fail to invite new consumers without alienating the core base of the firm’s largest brand?”
The fallout from Mulvaney&#8217;s partnership has caused Anheuser-Busch&#8217;s sales to <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/05/09/bud-lights-sales-drop-is-accelerating-amid-dylan-mulvaney-fiasco/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plummet</a>. Nationwide retail sales of Bud Light were down 23.4% year-over-year for the week of April 29, according to data from NielsenIQ and Bump Williams Consulting data, obtained by the New York Post. That number is worse than the 21.4% decline from the previous week. It is also the fourth consecutive week in which sales have dropped by double-digit figures.
The backlash has also spread across AB InBev&#8217;s other American brands: Budweiser sales dropped 11.4% for the week ending April 29; Michelob Ultra, the third highest-selling brand behind Bud Light and Modelo Especial, was down 4.4%; Natural Light was down 5.2%; Busch Light, 1.8%.
“It’s not just a Bud Light issue,” CEO Bump Williams told the New York Post. “It’s an Anheuser-Busch portfolio problem now.”
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“If Bud Light doesn’t fix its trend by the end of this month, it will continue to lose market share because it will lose Memorial Day. That kicks off the summer season,” Williams added. “There has to be a sense of urgency for InBev to correct these trends.”
Despite the continued freefall of Bud Light&#8217;s sales, Daily Wire host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-bud-lights-parent-company-pushes-radical-gender-theory-and-cozies-up-to-the-wef" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Knowles</a> points out that its parent company cannot break its commitment to left-wing ideology. Knowles pointed out Monday that AB InBev is a member of The World Federation of Advertisers. That group created The Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), a &#8220;cross industry initiative” to “demonetize … harmful content.&#8221;
&#8220;GARM is so powerful and controls so much advertising money (like that of Bud Light) that YouTube, Meta (FB &amp; IG), Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, and others are writing pages of reports about how they will run their platforms to satisfy GARM standards,&#8221; Knowles wrote. Worse than that, GARM is also backed by the World Economic Forum as a “flagship project” under their “Platform for Shaping the Future of Media, Entertainment and Sport.”

Major Bank Downgrades Anheuser-Busch’s Stock Status As Sales Continue To Crater

Major Bank Downgrades Anheuser-Busch's Stock Status As Sales Continue To Crater

LGBTQ

Portfolio manager David Bahnsen will introduce a resolution before the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/wall-street" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shareholders</a> of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jp-morgan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JPMorgan Chase</a> next week regarding the company’s moves to <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">de-bank</a> organizations for their conservative and religious <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/free-speech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">viewpoints</a>.
Chase Bank, the consumer and commercial subsidiary of the financial services behemoth, has garnered controversy in recent months for nixing its relationship with the National Committee for Religious Freedom, a nonprofit that advocates for religious liberty, and asking the organization to provide a list of its donors. One credit card processor owned by Chase likewise terminated an account belonging to Family Council, a conservative organization that works to strengthen traditional family values, while another firm controlled by Chase refused to serve the political action committee Defense of Liberty.
The shareholder <a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/vds_storage/document/JPMorgan%20Chase%20Proposal%20-%20Bahnsen%20-%20Revised%2012-26-22.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a> submitted by Bahnsen, the founder and chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group, contends that the actions from Chase violate the liberties enumerated in the United States Constitution and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. The resolution, which will be presented at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on May 16, would demand that JPMorgan Chase publish an evaluation of how the firm oversees risks related to discrimination against clients for their religious and political views.
“When companies engage in this kind of discrimination, they hinder the ability of individuals, groups, and businesses to access and equally participate in the marketplace and instead skew it to their own ends,” the resolution asserts. “Moreover, they risk giving fringe activists and governments a foothold to demand that private financial institutions deny service under the sweeping, unfettered discretion that such policies provide.”
JPMorgan Chase filed a <a href="https://adfmedia.org/press-release/jpmorgan-chase-loses-sec-challenge-must-allow-shareholders-consider-viewpoint" target="_blank" rel="noopener">motion</a> with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year to exclude the resolution from the shareholder ballot, a move which authorities from the agency rejected.
Bahnsen remarked in an interview with The Daily Wire that he does not expect the resolution to pass next week but said the intended impact “has already been achieved” because of the significant attention drawn by the company’s unsuccessful effort to nix the resolution.
“We have now had three extensive meetings directly with senior leaders at JPMorgan Chase and have been able to engage them in serious conversation about these matters,” Bahnsen commented. “I do not believe this would have ever gotten any internal attention apart from this effort, nor do I think senior leadership understood or appreciated that there were even people like us out there before this.”
Bahnsen, himself a conservative Christian and the son of influential late <a href="https://apologiastudios.com/lectures/bahnsen-u-course/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">apologist</a> Greg Bahnsen, said he does not believe actions against religious groups are emerging from senior executives, attributing the phenomenon to the “biases and prejudices” of “highly empowered” local and regional middle managers. “I am convinced these discriminatory things are happening, and that senior management is not behind it at all,” he continued. “I believe they have a breakdown at a more local and regional level causing this, and they internally are going to have to rectify it.”
Many accuse public and private actors of leveraging the financial system to oppose certain political perspectives, especially those held by conservatives. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-trudeau-announces-unprecedented-action-freezing-bank-accounts-of-freedom-convoy-protesters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invoked</a> emergency powers last year to freeze the personal and corporate bank accounts of individuals involved with demonstrations against vaccine mandates, while PayPal <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-paypal-policy-lets-company-pull-2500-from-users-accounts-if-they-promote-misinformation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that the firm would withdraw penalties from accounts deemed to be promoting racism or misinformation, a policy that the company later claimed was published by mistake.
The shareholder resolution comes as several Republican state attorneys general <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jpmorgan-chase-repeatedly-de-banked-conservative-and-religious-groups-republican-state-officials-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> JPMorgan Chase to participate in the survey component of the Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index, an initiative from the Alliance Defending Freedom that evaluates prominent firms for their commitments to religious liberty and freedom of speech. JPMorgan Chase <a href="https://www.viewpointdiversityscore.org/company/jpmorgan-chase" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scored</a> 15% out of 100% due to “unclear or imprecise policies” which allow the bank to “deny service for arbitrary or politically biased reasons.”

JPMorgan Chase

Portfolio Manager Will Confront JPMorgan Chase Shareholders On Moves To De-Bank Conservative And Religious Groups

Portfolio Manager Will Confront JPMorgan Chase On Moves To De-Bank Religious Groups

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