Tennessee General Assembly Passes Landmark Bill Against De-Banking

Bank Teller

The Tennesse General Assembly passed a bill prohibiting banks from de-banking and closing consumer accounts based on “social credit score” systems.

SB 2148 “prohibits financial institutions and insurers from denying or canceling services to a person, or otherwise discriminating against a person, based upon the use of a social credit score or other factors,” according to the bill’s summary.

Read the full story

Commentary: To Rebuild Trust, U.S. Banks Have a Lot of Work to Do

Trust in banks has plummeted.  From 2019-2022, the percentage of people who believe banks and financial institutions have a positive effect on the country fell among Republicans (from 63 to 38 percent) and Independents (by nine points). The problem grows every time a right-of-center group is debanked. Recognizing the problem, “rebuilding trust” is the theme of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The path to rebuild trust in finance is simple—keep politics out of banking.

In spite of an alleged priority of building trust, the largest banks are aligning themselves with radical United Nations (UN) climate initiatives linked to radical efforts to reduce Africa’s population and destroy Sri Lankan agriculture.

Read the full story

Joe and Hunter Biden’s Commingling of Finances Shows No ‘Absolute Wall’ of Separation

With the release of the latest Hunter Biden bank records, there is increasing evidence—both direct and circumstantial— that first son commingled his finances with President Joe Biden during his time in and out of the White House.

Hunter Biden’s lawyer—Abbe Lowell—on Monday pushed back on new House Oversight Committee evidence showing Hunter Biden sent direct payments to his father from a business account. Yet, Lowell’s explanation for the payments does not address questions about the origin of the funds or about the possible flow of foreign funds between son and father.

Read the full story

DEI Disaster: Wells Fargo Employees Say Bank Targeted Hispanics with Predatory Lending Practices

Wells Fargo, one of the largest banks in the United States is facing a lawsuit from its Hispanic employees that accuses the centuries old bank of engaging in predatory lending practices against customers of the same ethnic origin.

The lawsuit, filed June 30 in a Texas federal court, accuses Wells Fargo of pressuring Hispanic employees in San Antonio to redirect Latino customers away from home equity lines of credit to more expensive but profitable refinancing options without furnishing the usual disclosures, according to a complaint filed in court.

Read the full story

Wells Fargo Ordered to Pay $3.7 Billion for ‘Illegal Activity,’ Including Mismanaging Accounts

Federal regulators on Tuesday ordered Wells Fargo Bank to pay a $1.7 billion civil penalty and more than $2 billion in compensation to customers for what they say was “illegal activity affecting over 16 million consumer accounts.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Wells Fargo “repeatedly misapplied loan payments, wrongfully foreclosed on homes and illegally repossessed vehicles, incorrectly assessed fees and interest, charged surprise overdraft fees,” among other things.

Read the full story

Miyares Joins Coalition of 18 Other Attorneys General Investigating Bank Involvement in U.N. Net-Zero Banking Alliance

Attorney General Jason Miyares said he’s joining 18 other attorneys general led in an investigation into several major banks for their involvement in the United Nations Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA).

“The U.N’s Net-Zero Banking Alliance, which includes American companies, punishes Virginia farmers and Virginia companies that deal with fossil fuel-related activities,” Miyares said in a press release. “Virginians are not subject to U.N. business standards. That’s why I’ve joined a coalition of attorney generals investigating six major American banks for ceding authority to a foreign body.”

Read the full story

Multiple Major Corporations Sponsor Child Drag Events

An upcoming drag event in Boise, Idaho that will be targeting young children has received the sponsorship of numerous major corporations, including Target, Wells Fargo, CitiBank, and Hewlett-Packard.

As reported by Breitbart, the Boise Pride Festival will feature an additional event titled “Drag Kids on Stage.” Marketing itself as “a drag show like none other,” the event description says that children as young as 11 will be on-stage.

Read the full story

Federally Funded Non-Profits Are Running Illegal Immigrant Processing Centers in Nice Hotels, Helping Migrants Avoid Arrest

The Biden administration has deputized non-profit groups to move illegal migrants across the nation, allowing the charities to put them up in nice hotels and give them instructions on how to avoid capture.

Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) said Monday that a whistleblower told him about an ongoing operation in San Diego, and decided to go there to see for himself what is going on.

Read the full story

After Skyrocketing to Record Highs, Lumber Prices Fall Back to Earth

Close up of wood after being cut down - lumber yard

Lumber prices have begun to drop following record highs, with futures closing Monday at their lowest price in over two months.

Lumber futures reached their highest-ever price in early May according to Nasdaq, trading at $1,711.20 per thousand board feet. Futures closed Monday at $966.20 per thousand board feet, still well above pre-pandemic levels which hovered around $400.

Prices skyrocketed due to a variety of factors, including supply chain disruption due to COVID-19 restrictions, labor shortages, and higher demand due to the surge in the housing market, according to a report by Wells Fargo economists. The report noted that while prices were unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels, restarting domestic lumber production and restoring domestic supply chains would stabilize the market.

Read the full story

Costco Raises Minimum Wage to $16, But Won’t Advocate for All Businesses to Follow

Costco will raise its company-wide minimum wage to $16 per hour, a one-dollar increase that raises its wages higher than its fellow big-box retailers, the company’s CEO said during a congressional hearing Thursday.

Costco plans to raise its minimum wage from $15 to $16 because it is committed to paying workers “very competitive retail wages,” CEO Craig Jelinek said during a Senate Budget Committee hearing Thursday. Jelinek stopped short of advocating in favor of a federal minimum wage overhaul, instead saying he was solely focused on Costco.

Read the full story

Wells Fargo Bows Out of Small Business Bailout Program After Receiving $10 Billion of Loan Applications

One of the largest banks in the United States announced that it is no longer accepting applications for a federal program aimed at rescuing small businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Wells Fargo has stopped accepting new applications for the government’s Paycheck Protection Program, an initiative created by the government to assist U.S. businesses that employ fewer than 500 people. The bank’s decision came after it was inundated with billions of dollars in loan requests since Friday.

Read the full story

Ocasio-Cortez Blames Pipeline That Hasn’t Been Built Yet for an Oil Spill

by Michael Bastasch   Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blamed the Keystone XL pipeline for leaking about 5,000 barrels of oil in rural South Dakota about two years ago. There’s just one problem: The Keystone XL pipeline has not been built yet. During a House hearing Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez claimed that “Keystone XL, in particular, had one leak that leaked 210,000 gallons across South Dakota” while she questioned Wells Fargo president and CEO Timothy Sloan. And then @RepAOC shifts to asking about #WellsFargo's role in the Dakota Access Pipeline#NoDAPL pic.twitter.com/pCYTYZHOZx — Alexis Goldstein (@alexisgoldstein) March 12, 2019 Ocasio-Cortez probably confused the Keystone XL pipeline with the Keystone pipeline, which has been operating since 2010. Keystone XL is still under construction, but would also bring oil sands from Canada to Nebraska where it would connect to existing pipeline. Environmentalists spent years opposing the Keystone XL pipeline, filing court challenges and successfully lobbying former President Barack Obama to personally reject the project in late 2015. President Donald Trump reversed that decision in early 2017,but Keystone XL’s progress has since been delayed by activist lawsuits. The existing Keystone pipeline, however, was responsible for leaking up to 9,700 barrels in South Dakota in 2017.…

Read the full story