Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
BIMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Banking Committee, penned an op-ed in the National Review on his Fair Access to Banking Act. In an effort to advance their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals, too many financial institutions are categorically excluding constitutionally-protected industries from accessing services. Senator Cramer’s legislation does not require anything of banks, but rather prohibits them from discriminating against legally-operating businesses in the fossil energy and firearms sectors, among others.
“Banks were not created to be arbiters of public policy. They receive deposits, make loans, and process payments. This has been the backbone of American free enterprise for decades, but now far-left activists are upsetting the system by inserting their political preferences into the equation,” wrote Senator Cramer.
“In response to the aggressive growth of the ESG movement, some states have decided to pull their investments in firms that cut off funding to businesses important to their constituents. After all, why should West Virginia, Texas, or Alaska keep sending money to firms focused on cutting investments to the very resources funding their local economies and state budgets? Together, these state-level actions and my bill can help conservatives and all freedom-loving Americans to build a bulwark against this ESG nonsense and get real results. For example, BlackRock can’t remind us enough how much it supports fossil energy now that it has suffered major blows to its bottom line. Similarly, when asked if JP Morgan would defund fossil-fuel projects, Jamie Dimon rightly retorted that would be the ‘road to hell,’” continued Senator Cramer.
“All of these actions have contributed to the growing effort to keep financial institutions out of the political fray. When I reintroduced my bill again this Congress, it had even more support from my Senate colleagues than before. Today I believe there is a real opportunity to change course, turn away from discriminatory tactics, and embrace fairness and access to financial services for all legal commerce,” concluded Senator Cramer.
Discrimination Has No Place in Our Society, and Big Banks Are No Exception
By Senator Kevin Cramer
3.3.2023
In recent years, especially since President Biden’s election, the “woke” Left has exerted immense pressure on financial institutions to wade into social and political issues, such as gun control, energy policy, and abortion advocacy. Activists have taken these ancillary issues and inserted them into the daily business of many firms under the guise of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG).
As a result, businesses now engaged in legal commerce are being unfairly denied access to financial services. Brandon Wexler, owner of Wex Gunworks, a family-owned gun shop in Florida, received a letter from Wells Fargo in December 2022 announcing that it was terminating his account with the bank, even though his financial standing was sound. The bank denies politics played a role in its decision, but the letter clearly states: “Banking guidelines exclude lending to certain types of businesses.” This is one egregious example of banks moving to categorically exclude entire classes of legal business.
Even projects specifically authorized by Congress, such as Alaska’s 1002 area — which representatives voted to open for oil and gas drilling in 2017 — can’t catch a break. In fact, every major U.S. bank has committed to barring financing projects in the area. But this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Citigroup’s gun policy actually supersedes federal law, and its ESG policy includes a plan to phase out coal lending. None of these industries’ legal status has changed or even been in question, yet they’re being blackballed by financial institutions backed by taxpayer-funded insurance.
At a Senate Banking Committee hearing in September, I asked the CEOs of America’s largest retail banks whether their companies would process all transactions for legal goods and services in response to the creation of a new merchant category code for gun stores. Under oath, each one swore they would not limit or restrict such purchases even though gun-control activists have stated they intend to use these codes to pursue their own objectives.
Banks were not created to be arbiters of public policy. They receive deposits, make loans, and process payments. This has been the backbone of American free enterprise for decades, but now far-left activists are upsetting the system by inserting their political preferences into the equation.
Last Congress, when Democrats had free rein, they and their allies exerted maximum pressure against industries they deemed politically unfavorable. In response, I introduced the Fair Access to Banking Act with one-third of my Senate colleagues. The bill is simple: If a financial institution benefits from FDIC backing, it must make decisions on creditworthiness and financial health, not arbitrary factors pushed by liberals.
I also started my “Bully Pulpit” series in 2021, which brings business leaders to North Dakota and allows for a thoughtful and balanced discussion on critical issues like domestic energy production and Second Amendment rights. Our state has been able to show off its innovative clean-energy solutions and challenge the narrative of most climate activists. For example, to the surprise of many CEOs who attend, we are a national leader in Carbon Capture, Use and Sequestration technologies, which produce even cleaner oil, ethanol, and coal power. To his credit, Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan has engaged with North Dakota leaders and invested in forward-focused projects that use carbon to produce net negative oil. Unfortunately, many of his colleagues haven’t done the same.
In response to the aggressive growth of the ESG movement, some states have decided to pull their investments in firms that cut off funding to businesses important to their constituents. After all, why should West Virginia, Texas, or Alaska keep sending money to firms focused on cutting investments to the very resources funding their local economies and state budgets? Together, these state-level actions and my bill can help conservatives and all freedom-loving Americans to build a bulwark against this ESG nonsense and get real results. For example, BlackRock can’t remind us enough how much it supports fossil energy now that it has suffered major blows to its bottom line. Similarly, when asked if JP Morgan would defund fossil-fuel projects, Jamie Dimon rightly retorted that would be the “road to hell.”
All of these actions have contributed to the growing effort to keep financial institutions out of the political fray. When I reintroduced my bill again this Congress, it had even more support from my Senate colleagues than before. Today I believe there is a real opportunity to change course, turn away from discriminatory tactics, and embrace fairness and access to financial services for all legal commerce.