Newsroom

August 18, 2017

Justice Department: Operation Choke Point 'no longer in effect'

The Justice Department has announced an end to the Operation Choke Point initiative, which was launched under President Barack Obama to fight consumer fraud by denying fraudulent businesses access to banking services.

NAFCU had raised concerns that the program could deter the development of e-commerce and stifle economic growth. The initiative also held financial institutions and third-party processors accountable if they continued to serve a client operating in a fraudulent manner.

Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd sent a letter earlier this month to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., who has repeatedly called for the program's end, which called the initiative "misguided" and stated that it is "no longer in effect."

Earlier this year, NAFCU backed a bill introduced by House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Chairman Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., that essentially blocked the initiative. Under his bill, federal regulators would have been required to give material reason for ordering financial institutions to terminate account relationships.