Newsroom

February 04, 2016

House passes NAFCU-backed Choke Point bill

The House, voting 250-169, today passed a bill to ensure banking regulators are not participating in the Justice Department's Operation Choke Point.

H.R. 766, the "Financial Institutions Customer Protections Act," would require federal regulators to provide a material reason for ordering financial institutions to terminate account relationships, essentially blocking the Operation Choke Point initiative.

NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler, in a letter Wednesday to House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said this legislation is "critical to ensure the federal banking regulators do not create an environment that produces a chilling effect on access to financial services to consumers engaging in lawful behavior."

He continued, "This practice not only denies the consumer their right to financial services but could create a liability for depository institutions that are coerced into denying these individuals financial services."

The Operation Choke Point initiative was launched to fight consumer fraud by denying fraudulent businesses access to banking services; it holds financial institutions and third-party processors accountable if they continue to serve a client operating in a fraudulent manner.

The bill was favorably reported out of the House Financial Services Committee last July.