{"id":32035,"date":"2025-04-02T11:14:41","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T11:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/?p=32035"},"modified":"2025-04-02T14:16:01","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T14:16:01","slug":"raim-condemns-sa-banks-for-racially-biased-account-closures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/builder\/raim-condemns-sa-banks-for-racially-biased-account-closures\/","title":{"rendered":"RAIM condemns SA banks for ‘racially biased’ account closures"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post<\/a> was originally published on this site<\/a><\/p>

<\/p>\n

The Resistance Against Impunity Movement (RAIM) on Tuesday said it strongly condemns the ongoing practice  of South African banks arbitrarily closing accounts under the pretext of \u201creputational risk.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

RAIM stated, “This  practice has disproportionately targeted Black individuals and Black-owned businesses,  serving yet another instrument of economic exclusion and financial sabotage against those seeking to participate meaningfully in the country\u2019s economy. <\/span>The recent decision by the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to end the use of reputational risk as a criterion for banking decisions has set a powerful precedent.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The OCC recognised that allowing banks to use such a vague and subjective measure results in abuse and the unjust denial of financial services to legitimate individuals and businesses. <\/span><\/p>\n

“South Africa\u2019s financial sector, however, continues to hide behind this excuse to perpetuate racial and economic discrimination. <\/span>This is not just a banking issue; it is a political and economic crisis. When banks close the accounts of Black entrepreneurs, professionals, and organisations under the guise of reputational risk, they are deliberately stifling economic participation, reinforcing structural inequalities, and ensuring that wealth remains concentrated in the hands of a privileged few,” RAIM said. <\/span><\/p>\n

RAIM listed the consequences of the actions: <\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. <\/span>Economic Sabotage of Black Enterprise <\/b>\u2013 The arbitrary closure of accounts disrupts  businesses, making it impossible for them to operate, pay employees, and contribute to  economic growth. This forces many into informal or cash-based operations, limiting their ability  to scale and access critical financial support. <\/span><\/li>\n
  2. <\/span>Financial Exclusion and Poverty Entrenchment <\/b>\u2013 Without access to banking services,  Black South Africans are further marginalised from economic participation. This deepens  poverty, unemployment, and reliance on exploitative lending practices. <\/span><\/li>\n
  3. <\/span>Destabilisation of Trade Unions and Civil Society Organisations <\/b>\u2013 When financial  institutions selectively target organisations advocating for workers’ rights, social justice, and  economic transformation, they are attempting to suppress voices that challenge the status  quo. This is an attack on democracy itself. <\/span><\/li>\n
  4. International Reputation and Investment Risk <\/b>\u2013 If South African banks continue these  discriminatory practices, the country risks being seen as a hostile environment for fair <\/span>economic participation. This could lead to reduced international investment and economic  partnerships, further weakening our financial sector. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Call for US intervention and sanctions<\/b><\/h3>\n

    RAIM said it calls on the United States government to take a firm stance against these practices by imposing targeted sanctions on South African banks that engage in racialised financial  exclusion. <\/span><\/p>\n

    The movement said it should include:<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. <\/span>Investigations by the U.S. Treasury and State Department <\/b>into South African banks\u2019 role in economic discrimination, mirroring the U.S. stance against financial institutions engaging in unethical conduct. <\/span><\/li>\n
    2. <\/span>Sanctions on South African financial institutions <\/b>that continue to close accounts on arbitrary and discriminatory grounds. These should include restrictions on their ability to conduct international transactions and access U.S. financial systems. <\/span><\/li>\n
    3. <\/span>Support for South African regulatory reforms <\/b>that enforce financial transparency and  accountability, ensuring that no bank can act as a gatekeeper of economic participation based  on racial or political bias. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      RAIM further called on the South African government and regulatory bodies, including the  Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), to enact urgent policy reforms to end this practice and hold banks accountable for their actions. <\/span><\/p>\n

      “If these institutions refuse to self correct, stronger regulatory measures must be imposed to ensure that financial services  serve the interests of all South Africans, not just a select few.  <\/span>The struggle for economic justice is a continuation of the fight against apartheid-era  exclusion. Financial institutions should not be allowed to decide who gets to participate in the  economy based on their own subjective and racially biased criteria. RAIM will continue to  challenge and expose these injustices until real economic transformation is achieved,” RAIM said. <\/span><\/p>\n

      BUSINESS REPORT <\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      The Resistance Against Impunity Movement (RAIM) on Tuesday said it strongly condemns the ongoing practice\u00a0 of South African banks arbitrarily closing accounts under the pretext of \u201creputational risk.\u201d RAIM stated, “This\u00a0 practice has disproportionately targeted Black individuals and Black-owned businesses,\u00a0 serving yet another instrument of economic exclusion and financial sabotage against those seeking to participate meaningfully in the country\u2019s economy. The recent decision by the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to end the use of reputational risk as a criterion for banking decisions has set a powerful precedent.”The OCC recognised that allowing banks to use such a vague and subjective measure results in abuse and the unjust denial of financial services to legitimate individuals and businesses. “South Africa\u2019s financial sector, however, continues to hide behind this excuse to perpetuate racial and economic discrimination. This is not just a banking issue; it is a political and economic crisis. When banks close the accounts of Black entrepreneurs, professionals, and organisations under the guise of reputational risk, they are deliberately stifling economic participation, reinforcing structural inequalities, and ensuring that wealth remains concentrated in the hands of a privileged few,” RAIM said.\u00a0RAIM listed the consequences of the actions:\u00a0 Economic Sabotage of Black Enterprise \u2013 The arbitrary closure of accounts disrupts\u00a0 businesses, making it impossible for them to operate, pay employees, and contribute to\u00a0 economic growth. This forces many into informal or cash-based operations, limiting their ability\u00a0 to scale and access critical financial support.\u00a0 Financial Exclusion and Poverty Entrenchment \u2013 Without access to banking services,\u00a0 Black South Africans are further marginalised from economic participation. This deepens\u00a0 poverty, unemployment, and reliance on exploitative lending practices.\u00a0 Destabilisation of Trade Unions and Civil Society Organisations \u2013 When financial\u00a0 institutions selectively target organisations advocating for workers’ rights, social justice, and\u00a0 economic transformation, they are attempting to suppress voices that challenge the status\u00a0 quo. This is an attack on democracy itself. International Reputation and Investment Risk \u2013 If South African banks continue these\u00a0 discriminatory practices, the country risks being seen as a hostile environment for fair economic participation. This could lead to reduced international investment and economic\u00a0 partnerships, further weakening our financial sector.\u00a0Call for US intervention and sanctionsRAIM said it calls on the United States government to take a firm stance against these practices by imposing targeted sanctions on South African banks that engage in racialised financial\u00a0 exclusion. The movement said it should include:\u00a0 Investigations by the U.S. Treasury and State Department into South African banks\u2019 role in economic discrimination, mirroring the U.S. stance against financial institutions engaging in unethical conduct.\u00a0 Sanctions on South African financial institutions that continue to close accounts on arbitrary and discriminatory grounds. These should include restrictions on their ability to conduct international transactions and access U.S. financial systems.\u00a0 Support for South African regulatory reforms that enforce financial transparency and\u00a0 accountability, ensuring that no bank can act as a gatekeeper of economic participation based\u00a0 on racial or political bias.\u00a0RAIM further called on the South African government and regulatory bodies, including the\u00a0 Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), to enact urgent policy reforms to end this practice and hold banks accountable for their actions. “If these institutions refuse to self correct, stronger regulatory measures must be imposed to ensure that financial services\u00a0 serve the interests of all South Africans, not just a select few.\u00a0 The struggle for economic justice is a continuation of the fight against apartheid-era\u00a0 exclusion. Financial institutions should not be allowed to decide who gets to participate in the\u00a0 economy based on their own subjective and racially biased criteria. RAIM will continue to\u00a0 challenge and expose these injustices until real economic transformation is achieved,” RAIM said.\u00a0BUSINESS REPORT\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32037,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-builder"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32035"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32038,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32035\/revisions\/32038"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}