LOS ANGELES – The Free Speech Coalition has submitted a statement to Congress for the record detailing the ways in which Treasury Department regulations aimed at preventing financial crime could inadvertently lead to the exclusion of banks for mature companies and employees.
The statement follows a congressional hearing on oversight of FinCEN, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, held by the House Financial Services Committee on February 14. During the hearing, Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) called on FinCEN officials to explain what steps they were taking to minimize the de-banking of legitimate businesses and employees.
Beatty’s question, an FSC representative noted, is not the first time the issue has been raised in Congress. In November, during a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Senator Laphonza Butler (D-CA) asked officials from the Office of the Comptroller of the Monet what steps that agency was taking to ensure that financial institutions did not “inadvertently or intentionally close accounts.” from customers who were actually involved in legal activities.”
FSC Executive Director Alison Boden said: “Over the past year we have been meeting with lawmakers, regulators and Treasury officials to raise awareness of the consequences of the systematic debanking facing our sector. We are pleased that these questions are finally being asked and look forward to working with both Congress and the Treasury Department to resolve the issue.”
FSC’s statement to Congress maps the scope of de-banking faced by mature businesses and workers – more than 60% of whom have lost or been denied financial services as a result of their relationship with the sector. The statement cites FinCEN regulatory guidance that FSC believes inadvertently leads to banks flagging mature companies and accounts. The FSC submission will become part of the Congressional Record, a step that FSC hopes will help establish the organization as a resource and initiate a formal dialogue with Congress on the issue.
Read FSC’s statement for the record here. For more information visit FreeSpeechCoalition.com.