A Christian ministry that claims it has been “debanked” by Bank of America filed a consumer complaint this week with Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to determine whether their accounts were closed because of religious discrimination.
Pribumi Advanced Ministries — a non-profit organization based in Memphis, Tennessee that is involved in charitable efforts for orphans in Uganda through various partnerships — was warned without explanation by Bank of America in April that the organization was “operating in the businesses we chose not to serve at Bank of America” and will be closed within 30 days.
In May, Bank of America sent another letter stating “its risk profile no longer aligns with the bank’s risk tolerance.”
The ministry – which believes in pro-life values and marriage between one man and one woman on its website – has reportedly maintained two accounts with the bank since 2015.
One of these accounts is related to the ministry itself, while the second is linked to a Memphis-based church that provides support to the ministry’s initiatives and other overseas missions.
A third account was opened this year to facilitate the operation of the Indigenous Advance Customer Center, the ministry’s for-profit counterpart that involves sending notices of “overdue invoices on behalf of our customers,” according to its website.
Pribumi Advanced Ministries claims it has been “debanked” by Bank of America, and filed a consumer complaint this week to determine whether their accounts were closed because of religious discrimination.ProArtWork
Bank of America told Fox News Digital on Friday that the account was closed because of its “internal debt collection policy” that does not support the service.
The bank declined to provide a copy of the policy to Fox News Digital.
“We are proud to provide banking services to nonprofit organizations affiliated with diverse faith communities across the United States,” bank spokesman Bill Halldin said in a statement.
“Religious beliefs are not a factor in any account closure decisions.”
The Memphis, Tennessee-based nonprofit is involved in charitable efforts for orphans in Uganda through various partnerships.Fox News
He added: “Our US division that provides small business services does not offer banking services to organizations that provide debt collection services for various risk-related considerations and does not serve small businesses operating outside the United States.”
Jeremy Tedesco, president of the non-profit legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom representing Pribumi Advanced Ministries, told Fox News Digital that his clients made repeated inquiries to Bank of America for an explanation of its impending closure.
The ministry’s deposit account had $270,000 at the time before switching to another banking company, they said.
“What Bank of America is doing here is, obviously, going to produce an after-the-fact explanation for the cancellation that they did four months ago,” Tedesco told Fox News Digital.
The group — which believes in pro-life values and marriage between one man and one woman on its website — has reportedly maintained 2 accounts with the bank since 2015. Fox News
“They will not talk to our customers about the reason why they closed the account.”
“This is what we see every time in this situation, the bank closes the account, they say the reason is not clear, and it is suspicious; it looks suspicious like it is politically or religiously motivated,” he said.
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The ministry’s consumer complaint alleges Bank of America may have violated consumer protection laws and its own internal “Code of Conduct.”
The Code includes “diversity and inclusion”, including religious diversity, and requires decisions made about customer accounts to reflect these values.
Indigenous Ministry founder Steve Happ wrote in the complaint that he was left “deeply confused” because the ministry does not “donate to or otherwise support any political cause, domestic or international.”
“I am concerned that Bank of America canceled our and our partner’s account because it disagrees with our religious views,” Happ wrote.
The sudden closure of the account left the ministry struggling, the ministry said, and disrupted the Ugandan mission it had planned for June and temporarily affected salary payments there.
The move comes as “debanking” has become more prominent.
Nigel Farage, the former Brexit leader, had his account closed by Coutts, a private bank affiliated with British banking group NatWest, in July.
Last year, JPMorgan Chase closed the bank accounts of the National Committee for Religious Freedom, a newly formed nonprofit led by Sam Brownback, a former US senator and ambassador.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
