Fair Access to Banking: Ending Financial Discrimination
This act aims to ensure that banks and other financial institutions do not deny services to lawful businesses and individuals for political or reputational reasons. This means citizens and businesses complying with the law should have equal access to bank accounts, loans, and other financial services, regardless of their business type, as long as they meet objective risk criteria. If denied, banks must provide written justification, and affected parties can seek legal recourse.
Key points
Banks and financial institutions cannot deny services to lawful entities for political or reputational reasons.
Large banks denying services without objective grounds may lose access to taxpayer-funded lending programs.
Denial of financial services must be based on objective, quantifiable risk-based standards, not subjective biases.
Individuals denied services have the right to written justification and can sue the bank for damages, including treble damages.
Payment card networks are also prohibited from blocking access to their services for political reasons, facing financial penalties.
Introduced
Citizen Poll