The American state’s chief financial officer, Jimmy Patronis, has announced that 117 banks in the state have signed an affidavit of non-discrimination against customers and have been designated as Qualified Public Depositories (QPDs), which are banks legally authorized to receive public funds, including state or local government funds.
This follows the signing last year of a law designed to prevent a bank from qualifying as a QPD if it engages in “unsafe and unsound practices” and terminates services and accounts of customers based on their political, religious or other personal beliefs. The purpose of the law is also said to be to protect consumers from the left-liberal agenda of the banks.
– With the continued rise of Environmental and Social Governances (ESG) infiltrating our economic institutions, I am extremely happy to see the positive effects of HB 3 [the law], said Patronis.
– These 117 QPDs have officially made a commitment to put returns over politics. They understand that if they de-bank customers over political persuasion, they are threatening their own bottom lines. Since this law has gone into effect, we’ve had banks approach us to say that they reject woke-ism, and that they are ready to step up if a bank falls short of its commitment to Florida.
He said he was “proud” that Floridians can now “do what they want with their hard-earned money” without having to worry about suddenly being turned away as a customer or having their banking services shut down.
– I desire economic freedom for all Floridians, and we simply cannot stand by as the leadership in Washington fails to protect citizens from political targeting. The success of this bill has helped ensure that Florida remains a safe haven for freedom, where citizens can rest assured that they will not face discrimination from our financial institutions, he continued.
