Debt collection services, not religious beliefs, fueled decision, bank says<\/h2>\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/cdn.christianpost.com\/assets\/img\/icon\/chat-rect.svg\")
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<\/source><\/picture>A Bank of America branch in Austin, Texas, August 13, 2011.<\/span> | iStock\/robwilson39<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nDid Bank of America discriminate against a Tennessee ministry over its Christian views or was it simply a business matter?<\/p>\n
Steve Happ, board member and founder of Indigenous Advance, a Memphis-based charity that, along with Indigenous Advance Customer Center LLC, has partnered with and served indigenous people in Uganda since 2015 to provide basic needs and share the Gospel.<\/p>\n
Despite holding deposit and credit card accounts with Bank of America since its inception, Indigenous Advance received a series of letters<\/a> in April in which the bank announced it was closing the group\u2019s accounts within 30 days.<\/p>\nAccording to the nonprofit legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the only explanation provided in the letters was that “upon review of [the] account(s) we have determined you’re operating in a business type we have chosen not to service at Bank of America.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s deposit account had over $270,000, according to ADF. A partner entity, Indigenous Advance Customer Center, LLC, and a church operating at the group’s address, Servants of Christ Community dba University House of Prayer (UHOP), received similar letters closing their accounts.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.christianpost.com\/images\/cache\/image\/15\/00\/150081_w_760_473.jpg\")
<\/source><\/picture>Steve Happ (shaking hands on left), founder of Indigenous Advance Ministries in Uganda. <\/span> | Courtesy of Indigenous Advance Ministries<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHapp said after experiencing \u201cshock and confusion\u201d upon receiving one of the letters that referenced Indigenous Advance\u2019s \u201cbusiness type,\u201d he reached out multiple times to Bank of America.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked them, \u2018What type of business do you think we are?\u2019 and they wouldn\u2019t answer me,\u201d he told The Christian Post via phone Wednesday. \u201cThey said, I\u2019m sorry, we cannot give you that information.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Far from being simply an inconvenience, Happ said Bank of America\u2019s actions significantly disrupted the group\u2019s outreach and impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they closed the accounts, it meant that people who are dependent on us couldn’t eat,\u201d he said. \u201cTo us, it\u2019s not that big of a deal if your paycheck is delayed for a day or two, but for Ugandans, they live day to day, trying to find where they\u2019re going to find their next meal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Happ said due to the bank\u2019s actions, Indigenous Advance couldn\u2019t pay its employees or provide their ministry partners with donations until Hap returned to the States to sort out the issue.<\/p>\n
In a statement shared with CP, a spokesperson for Bank of America said, \u201creligious beliefs are not a factor in any account-closing decision,\u201d but rather it was debt collection services provided by Indigenous Advance\u2019s customer center that led to the account closures.<\/p>\n
The statement added: \u201cOur U.S. division that serves small businesses doesn\u2019t offer banking services to organizations that provide debt collection services for a variety of risk-related considerations and doesn\u2019t serve small businesses operating outside the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a complaint was filed with the Tennessee attorney general\u2019s office, it\u2019s still unclear whether the state will open an investigation, but regardless of the outcome, ADF Senior Counsel and Senior Vice President for Corporate Engagement, Jeremy Tedesco, said Bank of America and other large banks are leveraging their own \u201crisk tolerance\u201d policies in order to \u201cbox out disfavored but legal business operations.\u201d<\/p>\n
The practice, said Tedesco, started during the Obama administration under \u201cOperation Chokepoint,\u201d which sought to eliminate fraud in the U.S. banking system but was criticized by Republicans and other industry advocates before it was shut down<\/a> in 2017 under the Trump DOJ.\u00a0<\/p>\nTedesco said Operation Chokepoint used reputational risk as a \u201ctool to get the federal regulators to push banks to push certain industries out of banking privileges and access to services\u201d and may have opened the door to further \u201cde-bank\u201d Christians, conservatives and other aligned groups which \u201chold certain views the progressive Left doesn\u2019t like.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo now it\u2019s reputationally risky to serve Christian or other organizations that the Left disagrees with,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
He pointed to a separate incident last year where Chase Bank abruptly closed <\/a>the bank account of the National Committee for Religious Freedom (NCRF), a faith-based nonprofit organization led by Sam Brownback, former U.S. Ambassador-At-Large for Religious Freedom.<\/p>\n\u201cThis is exactly what happened with JP Morgan Chase, Samuel Brownback, and the same story\u2019s playing out here with Indigenous Advance,\u201d Tedesco said.<\/p>\n
\nIan M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post and the author of\u00a0BACKWARDS DAD: a children’s book for grownups<\/a><\/em>. He can be reached at:\u00a0ian.giatti@christianpost.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/source><\/picture>Did Bank of America discriminate against a Tennessee ministry over its Christian views or was it simply a business matter?<\/p>\n
Steve Happ, board member and founder of Indigenous Advance, a Memphis-based charity that, along with Indigenous Advance Customer Center LLC, has partnered with and served indigenous people in Uganda since 2015 to provide basic needs and share the Gospel.<\/p>\n
Despite holding deposit and credit card accounts with Bank of America since its inception, Indigenous Advance received a series of letters<\/a> in April in which the bank announced it was closing the group\u2019s accounts within 30 days.<\/p>\n According to the nonprofit legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the only explanation provided in the letters was that “upon review of [the] account(s) we have determined you’re operating in a business type we have chosen not to service at Bank of America.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The group\u2019s deposit account had over $270,000, according to ADF. A partner entity, Indigenous Advance Customer Center, LLC, and a church operating at the group’s address, Servants of Christ Community dba University House of Prayer (UHOP), received similar letters closing their accounts.<\/p>\n Happ said after experiencing \u201cshock and confusion\u201d upon receiving one of the letters that referenced Indigenous Advance\u2019s \u201cbusiness type,\u201d he reached out multiple times to Bank of America.<\/p>\n \u201cI asked them, \u2018What type of business do you think we are?\u2019 and they wouldn\u2019t answer me,\u201d he told The Christian Post via phone Wednesday. \u201cThey said, I\u2019m sorry, we cannot give you that information.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Far from being simply an inconvenience, Happ said Bank of America\u2019s actions significantly disrupted the group\u2019s outreach and impact.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they closed the accounts, it meant that people who are dependent on us couldn’t eat,\u201d he said. \u201cTo us, it\u2019s not that big of a deal if your paycheck is delayed for a day or two, but for Ugandans, they live day to day, trying to find where they\u2019re going to find their next meal.\u201d<\/p>\n Happ said due to the bank\u2019s actions, Indigenous Advance couldn\u2019t pay its employees or provide their ministry partners with donations until Hap returned to the States to sort out the issue.<\/p>\n In a statement shared with CP, a spokesperson for Bank of America said, \u201creligious beliefs are not a factor in any account-closing decision,\u201d but rather it was debt collection services provided by Indigenous Advance\u2019s customer center that led to the account closures.<\/p>\n The statement added: \u201cOur U.S. division that serves small businesses doesn\u2019t offer banking services to organizations that provide debt collection services for a variety of risk-related considerations and doesn\u2019t serve small businesses operating outside the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n After a complaint was filed with the Tennessee attorney general\u2019s office, it\u2019s still unclear whether the state will open an investigation, but regardless of the outcome, ADF Senior Counsel and Senior Vice President for Corporate Engagement, Jeremy Tedesco, said Bank of America and other large banks are leveraging their own \u201crisk tolerance\u201d policies in order to \u201cbox out disfavored but legal business operations.\u201d<\/p>\n The practice, said Tedesco, started during the Obama administration under \u201cOperation Chokepoint,\u201d which sought to eliminate fraud in the U.S. banking system but was criticized by Republicans and other industry advocates before it was shut down<\/a> in 2017 under the Trump DOJ.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tedesco said Operation Chokepoint used reputational risk as a \u201ctool to get the federal regulators to push banks to push certain industries out of banking privileges and access to services\u201d and may have opened the door to further \u201cde-bank\u201d Christians, conservatives and other aligned groups which \u201chold certain views the progressive Left doesn\u2019t like.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo now it\u2019s reputationally risky to serve Christian or other organizations that the Left disagrees with,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n He pointed to a separate incident last year where Chase Bank abruptly closed <\/a>the bank account of the National Committee for Religious Freedom (NCRF), a faith-based nonprofit organization led by Sam Brownback, former U.S. Ambassador-At-Large for Religious Freedom.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is exactly what happened with JP Morgan Chase, Samuel Brownback, and the same story\u2019s playing out here with Indigenous Advance,\u201d Tedesco said.<\/p>\n Ian M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post and the author of\u00a0BACKWARDS DAD: a children’s book for grownups<\/a><\/em>. He can be reached at:\u00a0ian.giatti@christianpost.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.christianpost.com\/images\/cache\/image\/15\/00\/150081_w_760_473.webp\")
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