Despite Trump's fuss, few "debanking" complaints

U.S. President Trump and other Republicans have been harshly critical of major financial institutions for cutting off or closing the accounts of conservatives, a practice known as "debanking," but it has been hard to quantify how widespread the practice has become.
    
Now, statistics I found from the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggest the issue is not that widespread, at least on the available public record. You can read more in my main story this week, linked below.

For this newsletter I have also included links to stories we did on the end of an Air Canada strike and Trump's criticism of Goldman Sachs. Also, scroll down for an update on cardboard recycling stats.
        
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Less than 1% of customers who filed detailed complaints about checking or savings account closures with the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over the last 13 years accused banks of acting for political or religious reasons, a review of the agency's data showed. Still, the White House has mounted a campaign to stamp out "systemic abuses" in the financial system that it says have wronged conservatives.
    
This month, Trump signed an executive order requiring banks not to discriminate against clients on political or religious grounds, a practice known as "debanking." The White House said the order was targeting "systemic abuses by financial institutions that undermine free expression and economic opportunity."

But few customers who have been denied access to banking products cite their political affiliation as a chief concern. Out of the 8,361 detailed complaints about closed bank accounts filed with the CFPB since the agency began taking them in 2012, only 35 include the terms "politics," "religion," "conservative" or "Christian," a review by Reuters showed.

You can read the rest of my story by clicking the button below.

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