SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
(3) banks are now, however, increasingly employing subjective, category-based evaluations to deny certain persons access to financial services in response to pressure from advocates from across the political spectrum whose policy objectives are served when banks deny certain customers access to financial services
(
when a bank predicates the access to financial services of a person on factors or information (such as the lawful products a customer manufactures or sells or the services the customer provides)…the bank has failed to act consistent with basic principles of sound risk management and failed to provide fair access to financial services
(9) banks have a responsibility to make decisions about whether to provide a person with financial services on the basis of impartial criteria free from prejudice or favoritism
(10) while fair access to financial services does not obligate a bank to offer any particular financial service to the public, to operate in any particular geographic area, or to provide a service the bank offers to any particular person, it is necessary that—
(A) the financial services a bank chooses to offer in the geographic areas in which the bank operates be made available to all customers based on the quantitative, impartial risk-based standards of the bank, and not based on whether the customer is in a particular category of customers;
(B) banks assess the risks posed by individual customers on a case-by-case basis, rather than category-based assessment; and
(C) banks implement controls to manage relationships commensurate with these risks associated with each customer, not a strategy of total avoidance of particular industries or categories of customers;
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are to—
(1) ensure fair access to financial services and fair treatment of customers by financial service providers, including national and State banks, Federal savings associations, and State and Federal credit unions;
(2) ensure banks conduct themselves in a safe and sound manner, comply with laws and regulations, treat their customers fairly, and provide fair access to financial services;
(3) protect against banks being able to impede otherwise lawful commerce and thereby achieving certain public policy goals;
(4) ensure that persons involved in politically unpopular businesses but that are lawful under Federal law receive fair access to financial services under the law
SEC. 5. PAYMENT CARD NETWORK.
(b) PROHIBITION.—No payment card network, including a subsidiary of a payment card network, may, directly or through any agent, processor, or licensed member of the network, by contract, requirement, condition, penalty, or otherwise, prohibit or inhibit the ability of any person who is in compliance with the law, including section 8 of this Act, to obtain access to services or products of the payment card network because of political or reputational risk considerations.
SEC. 7. USE OF AUTOMATED CLEARING HOUSE NETWORK
(b) PROHIBITION.—No covered credit union, member bank, or State-chartered non-member bank with more than $10,000,000,000 in total consolidated assets, or a subsidiary of the covered credit union, member bank, or State-chartered non-member bank, may use the Automated Clearing House Network if that member bank, credit union, or subsidiary of the member bank or credit union, refuses to do business with any person who is in compliance with the law, including section 8 of this Act.
SEC. 8. FAIR ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES
(5) FAIR ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES.—
The term ‘‘fair access to financial services’’ means persons engaged in activities lawful under Federal law are able to obtain financial services at banks without impediments caused by a prejudice against or dislike for a person or the business of the customer, products or services sold by the person, or favoritism for market alternatives to the business of the person.
(6) FINANCIAL SERVICE.—The term ‘‘financial service’’ means a financial product or service, including—
(A) commercial and merchant banking;
(B) lending;
(C) financing;
(D) leasing;
(E) cash, asset, and investment management and advisory services;
(F) credit card services;
(G) payment processing;
(H) security and foreign exchange trading and brokerage services; and
(I) insurance products.
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—To provide fair access to financial services, a covered bank, including a subsidiary of a covered bank, shall, except as necessary to comply with another provision of law—
(B) not deny any person a financial service the covered bank offers unless the denial is justified by such quantified and documented failure of the person to meet quantitative, impartial risk-based standards established in advance by the covered bank
(C) not deny, in coordination with or at the request of others, any person a financial service the covered bank offers; and
(D) when denying any person financial services the covered bank offers, provide written justification to the person explaining the basis for the denial, including any specific laws or regulations the covered bank believes are being violated by the person or customer.
(2) JUSTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—A justification described in paragraph (1)(D) may not be based solely on the reputational risk to the covered bank.
