Banks report customers nearly 2 million times a year, says report

US banks are reporting customers to authorities as “suspicious” at a rate of nearly two million times a year, says a New York Times report this month.

In 2022 banks filled out approximately 1.8 million suspicious activity reports (SARs) and are on track this year to reach nearly two million again, a 50% increase from 2021. SARs are submitted to the Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCen), which then distributes the data among relevant government and law enforcement authorities. 

Banks submit SARs for a number of reasons, such as high transaction amounts or wire transactions from high-risk countries. Often the concern is about the source of funds or a “transaction with no apparent economic, business or lawful purpose.” 

Other transactions that can trigger a SAR include large cash withdrawals. Since the federal government requires customers to complete a form if they want to withdraw $10,000 or more in cash, banks report customers as suspicious if they withdraw just under that amount.

But most of the time, customers are not notified that a SAR was filed against them — often they simply receive a notice that their account is being closed. Even if they contact the bank to find out why, representatives will not disclose that a SAR has been filed, as banks are not legally required to reveal that information.

This has led to an increasing number of families and small businesses unable to pay rent, make payroll, or pay vendors, says the New York Times, and they are often left in the dark as to why.

The Times fails to mention that another main reason banks summarily close accounts — other than not having all the information about a transaction — is because they disapprove of the customers’ political views.

In May, nineteen Republican attorneys general sent a letter to JPMorgan Chase demanding the institution stop discriminating against “conservatives and religious groups” by “de-banking” their accounts. 

The AGs cited an incident from May 2022 when Chase abruptly closed the account belonging to the National Committee for Religious Freedom (NCRF), a nonprofit aimed at safeguarding freedom for all religions. No transactions had raised any red flags. NCRF made some calls and discovered the decision had come from the “corporate office” and that a note in their file forbade staff from providing any clarity as to why their account was closed.

Chase eventually told NCRF that it would restore the organization’s account, but only if it divulged its donors, the political candidates it planned to support, and other unnecessary information.

In 2021 a Chase-owned credit card processor notified the pro-life organization Family Council that “we can no longer support your business” because it was considered “High Risk.” But the nonprofit met none of the qualifications for the High Risk category.

WePay, a payment gateway owned by Chase, refused service to a conservative group because it felt its views supported “hate, violence, racial intolerance, [and] terrorism.”

Also in 2021 Chase abruptly closed former Trump National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn’s bank account for “reputational reasons,” according to The Heritage Foundation.   

The attorneys general noted that on the Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index, which measures a company’s tolerance for a diversity of viewpoints and beliefs, JPMorgan Chase scored 15% out of 100. Banks are free to refuse service to anyone, acknowledged the letter, but then Chase should not claim to be “inclusive” and “diverse” as it does. 

"The bank’s brazen attempt to condition critical services on a customer passing some unarticulated religious or political litmus test flies in the face of Chase’s anti- discrimination policies," wrote the AGs.

JPMorgan Chase is one of six “too-large-to-fail” banks that have been slowly becoming “financial legislatures.”

“The major banks, financial management firms, and insurance companies are de facto deciding how we will be able to live. They are becoming our new legislatures,” said New Hampshire State Rep. J.D. Bernardy.

In January, Wells Fargo suddenly closed the account of Brandon Wexler, a well-known gun dealer who had been with the bank for 25 years. The bank suggested it will no longer do business with firearms dealers when it told Wexler it was too “risky.”

In 2020 Wells Fargo suddenly closed Republican Senate candidate Lauren Witzke’s bank account without explanation. 

“I think it is highly likely that within the next two years, you’re going to see financial institutions start to use a personalized social credit score of some kind to make decisions about things like your access to loans, your interest rate, or whether you’re eligible for insurance coverage,” said Heartland Institute Director Justin Haskins. “All the signs are pointing to that happening very soon,” he said. 

Bank of America, of its own volition, decided to track its customers who may have been at the US Capitol on January 6 and report them to the FBI. Following the Capitol breach, payment processor Stripe stopped processing payments for Trump’s campaign and anyone who was at the Capitol that day.  

In October, Bank of America also shut down the bank account of a popular conservative influencer refusing to provide an explanation. 

The trend has prompted conservative figures to open the country’s first “freedom banking solution.”

Old Glory Bank, founded by country music star John Rich, retired neurosurgeon and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson, and political commentator Larry Elder, was established one year ago. The institution bills itself as “the first chartered bank to openly support America, its flag, freedom, patriotism, the military and first responders.”

“Old Glory Bank promises it will never cancel law-abiding customers for their beliefs or for exercising their lawful rights of free speech,” the bank said in a statement.