More than 100 banks across Florida have signed an agreement to not politically discriminate against customers in exchange for a Qualified Public Depositories (QPD) accreditation. QPD banks are banks “legally allowed to accept public dollars which include state or local government funds.”
The announcement was made by state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis on Jan. 19, where he confirmed that close to 120 banks have already entered into the agreement, including some major banks, in what he has dubbed the “De-woking of Banks.”
The signatories include Bank of America, Citibank, PNC, TD Bank, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan Chase. It follows the implementation of HB 3, “which works to prevent the qualification of a bank as a QPD, if they are engaged in any “unsafe and unsound practices” of canceling services based on a person’s beliefs whether they be “political, religious, or any other factor that shows impartiality,” according to a press release by Florida’s Office of Communications….
