Commercial banks, which should be narrowly focused on the business of protecting your money and providing credit, have instead entered the cultural wars. Banks have turned to blacklisting and banning individuals and businesses that don’t align or agree with the prevailing consensus of liberal social and political narratives.
This weaponization of the banking system against conservative voices is extremely dangerous. In today’s world, if one doesn’t have access to banking and electronic payments, one may simply not exist.
The most recent high-profile case involves Nigel Farage, the conservative UK politician and former leader of the Brexit Party. His bank, Coutts, a subsidiary of NatWest Bank, told him earlier this summer that the bank was terminating his accounts. Coutts provided no explanation. False rumors were planted in the UK press (with the BBC, in particular) that the rationale was commercial (i.e., that he didn’t hold enough money with the bank).
Mr. Farage obtained access to internal documents of Coutts showing that the bank had made the decision because of his political views, including support of Brexit, challenging the Western narrative of the Russia–Ukraine war, and for his ideological proximity to former U.S. President Donald J. Trump. All this became public just a few days ago. The bank’s CEO has publicly apologized to him, as has the BBC, and a parliamentary investigation has begun.
In early 2022, amid peaceful protests by truck drivers and other workers against COVID-19 vaccine mandates, the Canadian government pressed the big four Canadian banks to freeze the accounts of protestors and supporters. The banks also froze the accounts of third-party organizations that were raising funding for the drivers and their families.
In 2021, JPMorgan Chase sought to cancel former national security adviser and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn’s and his wife’s credit card accounts over “reputational” issues. The bank reversed course a few days later when the situation became public.
In May, attorneys general from 19 states sent an open letter to Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase’s CEO, accusing the bank of discrimination. The letter reads: “It is clear that JPMorgan Chase ... has persistently discriminated against certain customers due to their religious or political affiliation.” The attorneys general cited multiple examples wherein JPMorgan Chase had unjustly targeted for closure accounts of organizations that support religious freedom, pro-life advocacy, or conservative political or religious values.
JPMorgan Chase certainly isn’t alone in this type of discrimination. However, the “too big to fail” banks, including JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, which collectively control most of the nation’s deposits, also seem to be the most aggressive in winnowing out conservative ideologies.
However, it’s not just the banks. Payment companies, such as credit card providers, merchant acquirers, and peer-to-peer transfer services, such as PayPal, Stripe, and Square, to name a few—all essential elements of modern financial plumbing—have exhibited similar behavior.
This “de-banking” is a prelude to totalitarianism. When individuals and organizations can be cut off from the banking and payments system, they’re rendered completely powerless to continue advocating for and financially supporting their beliefs. This, of course, is the entire point.
It’s a dangerous illusion to believe that this sort of thing only happens to high-profile, politically exposed people such as Mr. Farage or Mr. Flynn. The Canadian truckers illustrate how quickly and easily it can happen to rank-and-file citizens who dare to challenge their government’s policies. The reality is that ordinary individuals have their accounts canceled all the time; it happens quietly, anonymously, and without means of redress. The big banks have enormous power over their customers.
Every citizen should take appropriate steps to protect themselves. Do it now, before it’s too late.
Some of the alternatives may be easier than others, but think about the following basic ideas:
