The left is unfurling another weapon in the culture war, and it must be disabled before it can do real damage. That weapon is known by a word so new that many word processing programs see it as a spelling error—debanking.
Misusing a Legitimate Tool
The idea began as a way to fight against organized crime. It is really quite simple. If criminal enterprises cannot use the banking system, they lose the most common and convenient means to store, use and distribute their ill-gotten gains.
Like any business, illegal enterprises sometimes suffer cash flow issues, and the lack of bank accounts prevents them from using credit to ride out their temporary difficulties. Debanking is a tool that allows law enforcement authorities to limit the reach of criminals without the time-consuming formalities of the conventional justice system.
Unfortunately, the use of debanking is not limited to law enforcement. Many large banks and other financial institutions actively promote the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) movement. Thankfully, that influence is diminishing due to conservative pressure. However, banks can find ways to use their resources to make conservative social action all but impossible.
Hard Experience
A report titled “Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe – 2024,” published by The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC-Europe), provides examples. The report referred to Mats Sealander, the founder of the Christian Centre for Bioethical Reform in Sweden (CBR-Sweden).1 Mr. Sealander said that he was forced to end a thirty-year business relationship with the Scandinavian bank Nordea. The report continued, “With increasing DEI regulations, some banks are said to be closing customers because of their beliefs.”
In a more detailed article, OIDAC-Europe explained. “The bank transferred all of CBR-Sweden’s money to Mr. Selander’s private account, forcing him to temporarily use it for business transactions.”
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In most countries, it is illegal to intermingle funds donated to a charity with the personal funds of an officer of that organization. To avoid prosecution, Mr. Sealander withdrew his personal funds from the account, placing them elsewhere. However, despite his precautions, other issues arose. The article continued, “When the organization applied for business accounts at other banks, they refused, arguing that Selander conducted CBR-Sweden’s business affairs on his private account.” Indeed, a year and a half later, Nordea also closed down Mr. Sealander’s personal account.
Mr. Sealander and CBR-Sweden were not alone. OIDAC-Europe also reported on the dilemma facing Mr. Kees van Helden, the national coordinator of Choose Life in the Netherlands.2 Several banks denied the organization the ability to open an account. When questioned, one of the banks explained. “According to our terms and conditions, certain activities fall outside our risk appetite thus preventing us from continuing to provide our services to some personal or business users. This includes ideological or political activism of any kind.”
Coming to America?
This threat is not limited to Europe. According to Politico, the states of Florida and Tennessee took steps to prevent the practice over the summer of 2024. The article also pointed out that Arizona, Georgia, Iowa and Idaho “considered similar laws” but gave no specifics.
However, Politico, a journal known for its leftist sympathies, printed reactions from bankers.
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“Bank trade groups have pushed back in state legislatures over the bills, calling them unnecessary and rejecting the premise that banks are trying to get rid of customers over political or religious views.”
Certainly, bankers and the lobbying groups that represent them are well known for their cautious language. Being averse to risk is, after all, fundamental to any firm whose business is managing other people’s money. A few years ago, the bankers’ words were accepted with sanguinity. However, the recent DEI antics of the worldwide money management firms Blackrock and Vanguard do not inspire confidence in the financial service industry’s ideological neutrality. Throw in the recent controversies over Bud Light and Tractor Supply, and it is reasonable to conclude that the leftists exert great influence in America’s boardrooms.
Blandly Expressed Threats
The Politico article added, “Industry groups…also point[ed] to potential major conflicts with federal requirements, especially the array of obligations that banks have under federal anti-money laundering laws and other statutes to prevent terrorist and other illicit financing in the U.S. financial system.”
Where the bankers’ earlier statement sounded like bland reassurance, this second one causes genuine concern. The left is famous for a practice dubbed “lawfare—a strategy that combines lawsuits and criminal prosecutions with the tactics of social warfare. In essence, the left is quite willing to use legal vehicles to strike out against their more conservative allies. Given the emphasis that the recent Harris campaign placed on “reproductive rights”—a euphemism for abortion—the idea that pro-life groups in the United States are on a short list of the left’s targets is not unreasonable.
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Some might take comfort in the loss of Vice-President Harris. However, such a bland reassurance ignores the fact that many bank examiners are state employees and that the laws they enforce are the products of state legislatures. If Florida and Tennessee can pass laws limiting debanking, “deep blue” states like New York, California and Illinois could facilitate, or even require, the practice.
For now, debanking for American conservatives lies in the realm of possibilities. To the best of this writer’s knowledge, no American group has suffered like the Europeans referenced above. However, the left knows only two modes of behavior. They are either engaging in battles or sharpening their weapons for the next fight. For those defending tradition, ignoring this threat could be the best way to render it inevitable.
Footnotes
- The American TFP has no connection to or knowledge of Mr. Sealander or his organization other than the material printed in this article. Nothing in this article should be taken to imply that the American TFP does or does not endorse or support the CBR-Sweden.
- As with Mr. Sealander, the American TFP has no knowledge of Mr. van Helden or the Choose Life organization beyond the research done for this article.