Tim Scott's banking committee goes after financial institutions engaged in political 'debanking'

The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing next week to address concerns that some financial institutions cut off customers because of their political views, a practice known as “debanking.”

The committee chairman, Sen. Tim Scott, said the hearing will provide “an important opportunity to hear directly from Americans who operate federally legal businesses and have been debanked.”

The hearing will also help Americans determine whether there was improper influence by financial regulators, said Mr. Scott, South Carolina Republican.

“De-banking is unacceptable and un-American. This hearing is the first step in our efforts to hold bad actors accountable,” he said.

Witnesses called to testify at the hearing include Nathan McCauley, CEO and co-founder of Anchorage Digital; Evan Hafer, founder and executive chairman of Black Rifle Coffee Company; and Stephen Gannon, a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.

Mr. Scott is encouraging businesses and individuals across the country who have been debanked to report allegations to his committee staff.

House Oversight Chairman James Comer of Kentucky plans to hold similar hearings.

President Trump last week called out Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan during a question-and-answer session at the World Economic Forum, accusing the bank of cutting off financial services to conservatives and reigniting a battle over political debanking.

Mr. Trump told Mr. Moynihan, “You’ve done a fantastic job, but I hope you start opening your bank to conservatives because many conservatives complain that the banks are not allowing them to do business within the bank — and that included a place called Bank of America. … They don’t take conservative business.”

“And I don’t know if the regulators mandated that because of [President Joe] Biden or what,” Mr. Trump said. “But you and [JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon] and everybody — I hope you’re going to open your banks to conservatives because what you’re doing is wrong.”

Financial institutions including Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase have denied allegations that politics contributed to decisions to shutter bank accounts.

“We serve more than 70 million clients and we welcome conservatives,” Bank of America said in a statement. “We are required to follow extensive government rules and regulations that sometimes result in decisions to exit client relationships. We never close accounts for political reasons and don’t have a political litmus test.”

Eric Prince, the founder and former CEO of the private military company Blackwater, lashed out at Bank of America.

“This is a complete lie. You debanked me, my children, stepchildren and hell, you even debanked my ex-wife and her new husband because their account received child support payments from me,” he said.

“Fix yourself and clear out your illegal discriminatory banking practices. It’s time to break up the over-consolidated banking industry and make them actually compete instead of behaving like cartels.”

During the Biden administration, Jan. 6 defendants also said that their banks and online payment processors cut off access to their services.