Christian and conservative organizations are increasingly being ‘de-banked’ by weaponized financial institutions. These institutions have closed accounts, turned off payment processors, and even placed some groups on donor ‘blacklists.’ After being labeled as ‘high risk,’ Christian and conservative organizations are being denied financial services under the cover of federal banking laws. Among the victims are Indigenous Advance Ministries, whose account was closed by Bank of America; Family Council of Arkansas was canceled by JPMorgan Chase; and the Ruth Institute lost its payment processor after being targeted as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Nick Anthony, CATO Institute banking expert, says federal laws provide banks with multiple excuses to cancel certain groups they deem as “reputational risks.” Ultimately, the true culprit may also be federal regulators who pressures banks to cancel certain groups, according to Anthony.
