By Nupur Anand
NEW YORK (Reuters) -JPMorgan Chase denied it closed an account linked to former Kansas Governor Sam Brownback on religious grounds, and did not receive information it requested from him before shutting the account, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
Brownback, a Republican who chairs the National Committee for Religious Freedom, claims the bank canceled the group’s new account on religious grounds in 2022. He also alleged Chase shuns conservatives and religious groups.
President Donald Trump has accused the nation’s biggest lenders of discriminating against him and his conservative supporters by denying them banking services, a practice known as “debanking.”
“We don’t discontinue client relationships because of a religious or political affiliation, and we didn’t with your account,” wrote Larry Thode, a managing director at Chase, in a letter in October 2022. The contents of the letter have not been previously reported.
“The information your organization gave to us at account opening triggered our request for additional information. That had nothing to do with any religious affiliation.”
The bank did not obtain the information before the account was closed because its bankers were not able to connect with Brownback’s staff in a timely manner, it said.
“We apologize for that,” Thode wrote.
A spokesman for Brownback said the letter was the first time Chase had discussed regulations including the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering regulations as a cause for the account being canceled. “They still didn’t address why our account was closed just three weeks after opening.”
Thode did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
The White House declined to comment on Brownback’s case.
(Reporting by Nupur Anand in New York, editing by Lananh Nguyen and Chris Reese)
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