A religious nonprofit organization led by former United States Ambassador Sam Brownback alleges that Chase abruptly closed its bank account without any explanation.
Chase informed The National Committee for Religious Freedom (NCRF) – a nonpartisan group – on May 6 that the bank would be closing their account, less than three weeks after it was first opened.
According to Brownback, a clerk told an NCRF official attempting to make a deposit that the account had been closed. He noted that there was "never an official cause given" for the account's closure.
Brownback, a former U.S. senator and governor of Kansas (2011-2018), also shared that when NCRF Executive Director Justin Murff asked why the account was shut down, he was told that the decision was made "at the corporate level."
"It's secret, it's irrevocable, and that's all the information we got," he added.
While Chase employees told NCRF that they were "prohibited from providing any explanations" for the decision, the bank later explained that the religious nonprofit did not provide the requested documentation within 60 days, despite the account only being open for 20 days before it was closed.
According to The Christian Post, a representative from the Chase executive office, identified only as "Chi-Chi," told Murff that the bank could potentially reopen NCRF's account. For that to happen, the group would have to provide a donor list, a list of political candidates that the NCRF supports, and the criteria the group uses to determine which political candidates to support.
"Does Chase ask every customer what politicians they support and why before deciding whether or not to accept them as a customer?" Brownback asked.
Despite suffering "unexpected operation and financial challenges" after Chase closed the account, NCRF eventually opened a new account under a different bank.
In light of the ordeal, Brownback contended that Congress must "hold a series of hearings investigating businesses, particularly big corporations, that exclude people and try to find out why."
The nonprofit also launched its "#ChasedAway" campaign, where other faith-based organizations can share whether they had similar experiences.
"On what basis are these institutions doing this?" he added. "I just never expected it would happen to me or this organization."
Meanwhile, Murff expressed concern that banks could possibly shut down more accounts in the future, especially if those accounts belong to Christians.
"If they can 'de-bank' the NCRF, a multi-faith religious nonprofit, what happens when they start 'de-banking' pastors and Christian businesspeople?" he asked.
Photo courtesy: Frugal Flyer/Unsplash
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
