1792 Exchange Commends Major Banks for Adding Protections for Religious and Political Beliefs
SPRINGBORO, OH — 1792 Exchange is commending five of America’s largest banks for taking meaningful steps to protect customers from discrimination based on their religious or political views. This year, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, and Regions Bank all adopted or strengthened policies affirming their commitment to viewpoint neutrality.
1792 Exchange CEO Daniel Cameron sent letters to each institution applauding their various moves back to neutral and encouraging them to continue prioritizing equal access for all Americans.
“At a time when many Americans are concerned that access to banking could be influenced by ideology, these banks have shown real courage by affirming that every customer deserves equal treatment,” said Cameron. “This proactive step helps ensure that financial services remain focused on serving people and communities rather than yielding to political or cultural pressure.”
The updates follow the Trump Administration’s executive order guaranteeing fair banking and come after years of public concern about “debanking” based on religious or political affiliation.
1792 Exchange’s Corporate Bias Ratings scores more than 3,500 companies—including 243 major financial institutions—based on their policies, actions, and history of canceling business relationships over viewpoints.
Here are highlights from each institution.
Bank of America
- Amended its Code of Conduct to ban discrimination based on religious or political affiliation.
- Ended its rule requiring hiring managers to interview a “diverse slate” of candidates and pledged to stop using race- or sex-based criteria in hiring.
- Publicly acknowledged that it evaluates its programs “in light of new laws, court decisions, and executive orders.”
Citigroup
- Updated its Global Financial Access Policy to clarify that it does not discriminate based on political affiliation, treating it the same as race or religion.
- Still does not provide formal viewpoint protections for employees—an area for future improvement.
- Ended its “diverse slate” hiring requirements.
JPMorgan Chase
- JPMorgan Chase updated its Code of Conduct to protect against religious and political discrimination. JPMorgan Chase had a long history of debanking individuals based on their religious and/or political viewpoints.
PNC Bank
- Strengthened its Corporate Responsibility Report to add protections for customers’ “religious views” and “political opinions, speech, or affiliation.”
Regions Bank
- Reinforced its commitment to fair banking in its 2024 Shared Value Report, pledging to make decisions “without regard to political or social viewpoint.”
- Clarified that hiring and vendor selection are based solely on merit, not identity characteristics, and that it maintains no demographic quotas.
- Revised its political contributions policy to prohibit contributions to 527 and 501(c)(4) special-interest political groups.
1792 Exchange stands ready to work with companies to ensure America remains a place where businesses succeed by prioritizing service, excellence, and common sense.
Read the letters here.
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1792 Exchange is a 501(c)(3), educational, non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve freedom by steering public companies back to neutral on ideological issues. We create Spotlight Bias Reports, policies, and resources that expose coercion and corporate bias. We protect First Amendment freedoms and ensure all viewpoints have a seat at the table. We help corporate board members and executives maximize shareholder value, respect stakeholders, return to cultural neutrality, and serve customers with excellence and integrity. We also educate Congress, other leaders, and the American people about the dangers of stakeholder capitalism to safeguard Free Exercise, Free Speech, and Free Enterprise.
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