Arkansas’ ESG Oversight Committee made headlines this week by opting to keep TD Bank Group and TD Securities on its list of financial service providers that allegedly discriminate against fossil fuel and energy companies. Other companies on the list include Goldman Sachs & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Royal Bank of Canada, RBC Capital Markets, UBS Group AG, UBS Securities, Nomura Asset Management, Nomura Securities, Credit Suisse Group AG, and Credit Suisse Securities LLC.
As corporations increasingly make decisions based on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors, Arkansas’ lawmakers have enacted legislation addressing financial discrimination against fossil fuels and related energy companies.
While many are concerned about businesses being driven by radical environmental agendas, it’s worth pointing out the “Social” element of ESG allegedly has caused some conservative organization to have their bank accounts closed.
Family Council has written repeatedly about how politicized de-banking hurts charities, conservative causes, and people of faith.
In 2022, Chase abruptly closed the account of Ambassador Sam Brownback’s National Committee for Religious Freedom with little warning or explanation, and PayPal similarly disabled the account of a group called the Free Speech Union.
In 2021, our credit card processor — a company owned by Chase Bank — canceled our account with virtually no notice and no explanation. The only conclusion we could draw was that our conservative principles prompted the cancelation.
Recently the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government released a report indicating the federal government actually weaponized banks against conservatives following the events of January 6, 2021.
The report shows that federal law enforcement officials from the Treasury Department and the FBI quietly contacted financial institutions to discuss ways financial institutions could share customer information with federal law enforcement outside of normal legal processes.
The report further revealed the Treasury Department provided banks and financial institutions with information listing legitimate, conservative groups such as Alliance Defending Freedom, American Family Association, Family Research Council, and many others as “Hate Groups” alongside the KKK and the American Nazi Party.
In April, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin signed a letter with 14 other state attorneys general asking Bank of America to come clean about its de-banking practices.
We appreciate Arkansas’ policymakers being willing to stand up for transparency and accountability at financial institutions. Nobody should have their bank account canceled because of what they believe.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
