New York City Freezes Deposits at Banks That Failed To Submit Anti-Discrimination Plans

New York City Banking Commission members voted to halt the city's deposits at two major banks after they did not share mandated plans to root out discrimination.

A statement from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander published Thursday claimed that the two banks, Capital One and KeyBank, "outright refused to submit required policies" to show they were exercising a "meaningful commitment to combat discrimination in employment, services, and lending."

The comptroller, Brad Lander, also voted against designating Wells Fargo, PNC Bank and International Finance Bank to hold public funds after they "failed to demonstrate they were taking action to prevent discrimination" in branch openings and closings, lending decisions, hiring, and other operations, he noted in his statement.

The three banks currently don't hold any public funds.

"Banks seeking to do business with New York City must demonstrate that they will be responsible managers of public funds and responsible actors in our communities,” Lander said in a statement. 

“Unfortunately, despite several opportunities to do so, five banks failed to comply with the New York City Banking Commission’s designation process – leaving us to conclude that they are not taking meaningful actions to combat discrimination in their operations and are not responsible stewards of public dollars."

Lander is one of the three members of the Banking Commission.

KeyBank did not immediately respond to The Messenger's request for comment on Thursday evening.

In a statement to The Messenger, a Capital One spokesperson said the bank "prohibits discrimination and harassment against any applicant, intern, Associate, vendor, contractor, customer, or client on the basis of protected characteristics."