Nineteen Republican attorneys general are putting JPMorgan Chase & Co. (Chase) on notice after the bank allegedly discriminated against customers with certain religious beliefs or political affiliations.
Attorney General Daniel Cameron of Kentucky led a coalition of 19 Republican states in a letter Tuesday to Chase CEO Jamie Dimon claiming that Chase has "persistently discriminated against certain customers due to their religious or political affiliation."
"Chase cannot call itself ‘inclusive’ and say that it ‘opposes discrimination in any form,’ while simultaneously disenfranchising its clients over religious and political differences," said Attorney General Cameron in a statement.
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The AGs said in the bank's public-facing statements, Chase professes openness and inclusivity. However, they claim the company "has not extended its openness and inclusivity to everyone," and point out the company’s pattern of targeting and denying service to religious and conservative-leaning customers.
As an example, the AGs said the National Committee for Religious Freedom (NCRF) was "de-banked" last year without explanation.
NCRF is a "nonpartisan, faith-based nonprofit organization dedicated to defending the right of everyone in America to live one’s faith freely." According to the letter, NCRF's National Advisory Board includes Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim members.
Three weeks after NCRF opened a Chase checking account last year, Chase sent NCRF a letter indicating that the bank had "end[ed] their relationship." When NCRF inquired about the closure, Chase never gave an explanation but eventually said it would reopen the account but only if NCRF provided the bank a list of its donors, political candidates they intended to support and criteria for its endorsements.
"The bank’s brazen attempt to condition critical services on a customer passing some unarticulated religious or political litmus test flies in the face of Chase’s anti- discrimination policies," the AGs wrote.
The AGs also said a credit card processor owned by Chase shut down the account of a conservative pro-life organization for being "high risk." That same year, a company called WePay, which is also owned by Chase, refused service to a conservative group because WePay equated conservative views with "hate, violence, racial intolerance, [and] terrorism[.]"
Chase reversed that decision only after intense pressure from the Treasurer of Missouri, according to the letter.
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The AGs said the bank's refusal to participate in a survey for Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index, which the AGs say is "the first comprehensive benchmark designed to measure corporate respect for religious and ideological diversity in the market, workplace, and public square," and includes a questionnaire about internal policies and practices that affect the civil liberties of customers and employees.
Chase has refused to participate in the survey, but "prides itself on the company’s top score in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index." The AGs say this is a "concerning double standard."
"No individual or organization should have to worry that religious or political beliefs will limit access to financial services or undermine financial stability," the letter said.
"Surely Chase’s promised inclusivity should extend to these fundamental characteristics of American identity. Accordingly, we call on Chase to stop its religious and politically biased discrimination and start living up to its commitment to an inclusive society where everyone feels welcomed, equal, and included," they said.
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The AGs say participation in the Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index, which is a product of the National Center for Public Policy Research, "would be a positive first step."
AG Cameron was joined in the letter by Republican attorneys general from from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.
