Mention the word “debanked”, and some might consider you stuttered or misspoke. Explain what debanking is, and the majority of people may assume you’re anxious when you explain what it’s like for financial institutions to cancel a customer due to his political views.
Debanking is a real and growing issue, though it includes Texas oil and gas service companies and American drivers ‘ Freedom Convoys. Particularly as business management tends to lean left and makes attempts to expand their business beyond just turning a gain.
John Eastman, a lawyer who worked for past president Donald Trump, has now been debanked by both USAA and Bank of America.
It is surprising that USAA debanks Eastman for his relations to the 2020 election campaign. USAA — then an healthcare, financial services, and finance powerhouse headquartered in San Antonio, Texas — got its start in 1922 as a common self- insurance company for Army officers. Its customers is typically service members, veterans, and their families, with account limited to those who can demonstrate a military connect. That means that, per a 2019 Pew Research surveys, its customers are middle- straight, with 59 cent of veterans identifying as Republican versus just 39 percent of veterans who are Democrats. In other words, USAA’s users voted overwhelmingly for Trump.
However, as USAA grew larger, some clients complained of a decline in quality as USAA extremely contracted out essential services, such as adjusting claims. USAA also sinned against its military heritage.
USAA is today akin to that human-sized husk that was adorned like a skin suit by the enormous extraterrestrial insect in” Men in Black.”
Of the 10 men and one woman listed on USAA’s executive council, none mentions military service on his or her LinkedIn profile. Given that about 10 percent of American men ages 35- 64 are veterans, one would expect to see at least one veteran on the senior management team of a firm that claims,” We’re run by members, for members. And we’re committed to serving the military and their families”, and” USAA was founded on military values“. Instead, we see people who, unless their parents served in the U. S. military, do not personally qualify for USAA insurance due to a lack of a link to military service.
This lack of direct knowledge of the military has clearly led to a disconnection from military culture, which, in America, leans decidedly to the right.
This brings us to the intriguing case of USAA debanking John Eastman without providing any justification.
I looked through the 1792 Exchange’s database on corporations inquiring about USAA and what might have caused it to decide as a federally insured bank to debank an innocent American citizen. The 1792 Exchange has assessed nearly 3, 000 firms, looking at policies and practices that might predict the likelihood that a company” will cancel a contract or client, or boycott, divest, or deny services based on viewpoints or beliefs”.
I thought of the 1792 Exchange because, just a few weeks earlier, I moderated a panel on ESG ( environmental, social, and corporate governance ) investing featuring Daniel Cameron, the former attorney general of Kentucky who serves as 1792’s CEO, among others.
Here’s where things get interesting. 19 of the 22 banks and insurance companies with headquarters in Texas and a rating from the 1792 Exchange are deemed to have a lower risk of terminating a contract or client due to viewpoint bias. One business was given a medium risk rating. Additionally, USAA was one of only two businesses that had a high risk rating.
By comparison, in California, 1792 Exchange rated 20 firms in the same banking and insurance space, with 10 companies rated as having lower risk, four at medium risk, and six as having high risk. In contrast, only 13 % of Texas-based businesses present a degree of risk because of viewpoint discrimination, compared to half of the businesses with offices in California. Of course, this makes sense when you compare California’s hyper- left political environment to that of Texas.
When I asked Cameron about these numbers, he said,” These numbers are n’t surprising given the leftward tilt of corporate boardrooms. The conservatives ‘ resignation is just the tip of the iceberg. All Americans ought to be concerned about it, and it should be known that this kind of activism is influencing bank financial decisions.
The 1792 Exchange recently updated its summary analysis for USAA, now noting:
Former Trump attorney John Eastman was debanked by USAA in 2023, citing the organization’s right to close accounts” for any reason without prior notice.” Eastman asked about the closures, however, the bank stated that it was their policy not to disclose any further information. USAA scored a 100 on the 2023 Corporate Equality Index ( CEI ) from the Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ), a political stakeholder group. The company offers a benefits package to its employees that includes transgender medical procedures for employees and dependents, including children. It also uses sex and gender ideology criteria in employee recruitment, vendor selection, marketing, and philanthropic support. USAA forces employees to undergo multiple ideological trainings and uses its reputation, corporate funds, and political influence to support controversial sex and gender ideologies, organizations, and legislation.
Regarding USAA’s rating, Cameron also added,” As you can see, USAA’s rating shows how deeply political activism has seeped into the culture of the insurance company. There are very few aspects of its business that do n’t embrace left-wing ideology. I have a feeling that the majority of USAA’s members would find it alarming that it has a progressive agenda.
Of course, one might argue that USAA is following President Joe Biden’s Defense Department practice with its mandatory Maoist struggle sessions, gender ideology, and pronoun police. Perhaps USAA’s rapid customer service decline is a result of the same cultural Marxism.
I contacted USAA for comment Friday afternoon, but by Monday evening, they had not responded.
USAA is n’t foolish, though, it makes sure the home front is adequately provisioned insofar as its political giving is concerned. Per OpenSecrets. org, it gives handsomely to Republicans in Texas, its home state. So far in the 2024 election cycle, USAA has donated$ 121, 500 to Texas Republicans and$ 36, 000 to Texas Democrats.
For the rest of the nation, the divide is even:$ 118, 750 for Republicans and$ 118, 650 for Democrats. In the prior political cycle, USAA similarly gave far more to Republicans than Democrats in Texas, but in the other 49 states, their giving tilted to Democrats.
However, such a divergence between corporate policy and giving can be anticipated because the decision makers are largely influenced by which lawmakers can support or oppose a company’s particular corporate interests.
It’s remarkable that one of the numerous Texas Republicans USAA contributed to quickly denounced USAA’s Eastman debanking in this context. Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Glenn Hegar stated on X that” USAA members deserve better from a company that once embraced its members as heroes but now apparently views them as extremists. This lurch to radical leftist ideology is disgraceful”. I agree.
