Are big banks chasing away religious organizations?

When Chase closed our account, it triggered a chain reaction that led to other financial service accounts being closed and caused the fledgling organization to experience unexpected operational and financial challenges. Thankfully, we were able to open a new account at another bank.

The decision to cancel the NCRF was described by multiple Chase employees as one from the corporate office. It was initially explained to us by someone at the Chase corporate office that the decision was final and nonrevocable.

To this day, the NCRF does not have a clear reason as to why our account was closed after only three weeks. We certainly hadn t made any transactions in that short amount of time that would have triggered any regulatory red flags.

What shocked and surprised me the most was when someone from Chase eventually reached out to our executive director and informed him that it would be willing to reconsider doing business with the NCRF if we would provide our donor list, a list of political candidates we intended to support, and a full explanation of the criteria by which we would endorse and support those candidates. It was entirely inappropriate to ask for this type of information. Does Chase ask every customer what politicians they support and why before deciding whether or not to accept them as a customer?

Unfortunately, we do not believe this was the first time an organization has found itself facing sudden and unexplained account closures. Religious institutions, houses of worship, and people of all faiths should be greatly concerned that their business, credit, or even personal or private bank accounts could likewise be terminated for any or no reason at all.

Since finding ourselves chased away, we have begun to investigate if other organizations, public or private, have received similar cancellation letters from their financial service providers. The National Committee for Religious Freedom has launched a #ChasedAway campaign to invite comments and testimonies from others who may have found themselves canceled by financial institutions.

If I were still in the Senate, I certainly would be asking Dimon if he really meant what he said. Does he, and the bank he leads, truly respect religious freedom as a core value that binds America together? The recent actions of his bank would seem to suggest otherwise.

via www.washingtonexaminer.com

Unbelievable.