The Christian Post reports today that despite having active accounts with Bank of America since its inception in 2015, Indigenous Advance, a Christian ministry providing basic needs and sharing the gospel in Uganda since 2015, received a series of letters in April 2023 stating that the bank would close the ministry’s accounts within 30 days. The accounts were closed.
According to the legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (“ADF”), the only explanation in the letters provided by Bank of America 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.”
The Christian Post‘s article may be read HERE.
For its part, Bank of America asserts that the matter was not discrimination and pertained to Indigenous Advance’s debt collection services. ADF’s Senior Counsel, Jeremy Tedesco, believes that Bank of America is leveraging a risk tolerance policy to dispense with “disfavored but legal business operations.”
This is reminiscent of a similar situation last year in which JPMorgan Chase Bank suddenly closed the account(s) of the National Committee for Religious Freedom (“NCRF”). The NCRF is a national, non-profit organization defending religious freedom by identifying and supporting elected officials and candidates committed to upholding the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
On October 12, 2022, the Daily Citizen reported about the JPMorgan Chase Bank and NCRF matter. The Daily Citizen article may be read HERE.
My brothers and sisters, it should come as no surprise that worldly institutions, including the banking industry, may hold corporate or ideological views inconsistent with the Christian faith and its outreach efforts. We should continue to support and pray for all of the Christian ministries providing life-sustaining necessities while promoting the gospel of Jesus Christ!
Praise Jesus forevermore!