Conservative group takes aim at Wall Street in report claiming big banks have
undercut firearms industry
By Chris Pandolfo FOXBusiness
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FIRST ON FOX - A conservative group is calling out the largest and most
influential institutions on Wall Street for allegedly discriminating against the
firearms industry and, in their view, working to "undermine America's
constitutional right to keep and bear arms."
The American Accountability Foundation (AAF) in a new report highlights how some
of the biggest names on Wall Street - including Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and
Bank of America - have allegedly used their control over capital to undercut
firearms manufacturers, retailers and organizations representing lawful gun
owners.
"Over the last decade, significant media attention has been paid to the left's
obsession with using banks and asset managers to end fossil fuels.
Unfortunately, very little attention has been given on the left's use of certain
banks to chip away at legal private ownership and use of firearms," the AAF
Research Team writes in a memo shared with FOX Business.
"Unfortunately, law-abiding Americans who exercise their 2nd amendment rights
have a proverbial bullseye on their backs placed there, in large part, by
certain banks and their left-wing comrades who are wanting to undermine
Americans' constitutional right to keep and bear arms," AAF states.
In the report, titled "Debanked by the Banks," the group points to policies
adopted by large financial institutions that have cut off firearms-related
groups from access to capital and lines of credit.
AAF cites how Bank of America, for example, in 2018 announced that it would stop
lending money to gun manufacturers that make certain "military-inspired" rifles
for civilian use, like the AR-15, which have been used in multiple mass
shootings, according to the New York Times.
"We want to contribute in any way we can to reduce these mass shootings," Bank
of America Vice Chair Anne Finucane said at the time.
The "Debanked" memo also notes how Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase reportedly
pressured business software company Intuit to enact a policy that forbade gun
manufacturers and sellers from using its accounting program, QuickBooks. An
oversight investigation led by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, revealed that Intuit had
a policy that prohibited "guns and firearms manufacturing" from receiving
QuickBook's payroll services. That policy has since been reversed.
The Senate Commerce Committee held a briefing on the matter in 2023 where
JPMorgan acknowledged it was the source of the services policy.
A JPMorgan spokesperson previously told FOX Business, "For any third-party
processors that process payments in aggregate, we are unable to perform the due
diligence expected by regulators for several highly-regulated industries,
including internet firearms retailers, so we cannot process such payments for
these processors. Any such merchants can look to work directly with us rather
than through a third-party processor. We do allow payments to be processed
through these processors for brick and mortar firearms retailers."
Bank of America did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The AAF report mentions how other major financial institutions have taken steps
in recent years to mitigate the reputational risk of their companies by
distancing themselves from the firearms industry.
Since at least 2018, Goldman Sachs policy forbids the firm from investment in
gun manufacturers, CNBC reported. CEO David Solomon has publicly stated that
Goldman Sachs doesn't work with companies that make assault weapons, bump stocks
and high-capacity magazines.
"We do business with retailers who sell guns, but we are thinking about what we
should do and how we can contribute to this debate," Solomon told CNN in 2019,
after a gunman killed 22 people and wounded 24 others in a shooting at a Walmart
in El Paso, Texas.
Goldman Sachs was unavailable for comment.
That same year, Citigroup announced a U.S. Commercial Firearms Policy that
required senior partners and clients to adhere to best practices, including that
they don't sell firearms to someone who hasn't passed a background check;
restrict the sale of firearms for individuals under 21 years of age who have not
completed a firearms safety training course; and don't sell bump stocks or
high-capacity magazines.
"We respect the Second Amendment. Our policy does not prohibit us doing business
with the firearms industry and, in fact, we are doing business with retail
outlets that sell firearms," a Citigroup spokesperson told FOX Business.
More recently, Wells Fargo has drawn the attention of Republican attorneys
general after the bank abruptly closed the business and personal accounts of
Brandon Wexler, the owner of Florida-based firearms dealer Wex Gunworks. The
bank gave a vague explanation for its action, telling Wexler, "Banking
guidelines excludes lending to certain types of businesses," according to The
Reload.
Last month, attorneys general from 15 states wrote to Wells Fargo demanding an
explanation for the debanking.
"Wells Fargo is pushing the Biden administration's anti-gun and anti-traditional
energy policies and discriminating against customers who don't fall in line with
their political beliefs," Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen told Fox News
Digital.
Wells Fargo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gun control advocacy groups have put pressure on American banks to cut business
ties with the firearms industry. In 2019, Guns Down America launched a campaign
called "Is Your Bank Loaded," which assigned a letter grade to big banks based
on their relationships with gun owners groups like the National Rifle
Association and financial ties to firearms manufacturers or retailers.
"This campaign was an effort to inform consumers about their bank's involvement
in the firearms industry, and hold those banks accountable to their promises to
help end gun violence," said Hudson Munoz, executive director for Guns Down
America in a statement.
Munoz criticized the AAF report, which he said "barely qualifies as research"
and is "devoid of any critical analysis of the firearms industry as it relates
to banking."
He said that banks have taken "appropriate steps" to manage investment risks
inherent to the firearms industry, which by nature are "not good clients."
"From a reputational perspective, gun makers have created an environment of
intense scrutiny by manufacturing and marketing inherently dangerous products to
civilian consumers. People are fed up and aren't buying the ruse of individual
responsibility - they want to know how killers got their weapon and who made
it," Munoz told FOX Business.
He added that gun makers are "risky clients" from a business perspective, as
well.
"On the manufacturing side, gun makers are event-driven businesses and see
demand increase when social and political tensions rise. They see revenue
decline when consumer discretionary income decreases, and they face intense
political and legal pressure - again, because they refuse to take ownership of
the risk their products create in society. On the retail side, gun sellers
handle a lot of cash. That's a burden for a bank," Munoz said.
If banks face a financial risk from investing in the gun industry, they also
face a political risk from appearing too hostile towards it.
Actions by big banks to limit work with the gun and fossil fuel industries have
incensed Republican lawmakers, who have accused them of siding with the
political left. In 2021, Texas lawmakers enacted a law that prohibits government
contracts with entities that discriminate against the firearms industry. Last
year, Kentucky warned 11 major financial companies, including Citigroup Inc.,
JPMorgan Chase and BlackRock Inc., of potential divestment over their "boycott"
of energy companies.
"Banks should make lending decisions relying on objective, risk-based metrics,
not based on what is considered politically favorable," said Rep. Andy Barr,
R-Ky., a member of the House Financial Services Committee. "Financial
Institutions should stick to the business of banking instead of politicizing our
financial system to please the Left."
Groups like Guns Down America, meanwhile, urge customers to seek institutions
that represent their values.
"The goal is to see financial services consumers pick a bank with policies and
public positions that align with the goal of ending gun violence," Munoz said.
FOX Business' Joe Schoffstall and Reuters contributed to this report.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/conservative-group-takes-aim-wall-street-report-claiming-big-banks-undercut-firearms-industry 
Conservative group takes aim at Wall Street in report claiming big banks have undercut firearms industry