ICYMI: A Debanking Solution Requires Leadership from Washington

“A strong federal standard, in addition to the FIRM Act, will ensure banks serve customers fairly and consistently, allowing financial institutions to uniformly serve their clients without fear of regulatory persecution.”

In case you missed it, Baton Rouge businessman Scott Wilfong penned an op-ed in The Advocate encouraging Louisiana lawmakers to look to Congress to address debanking concerns and the root cause of the issue—government overreach—rather than working on a solution at the statehouse. Fortunately for Louisianans, exactly what Willfong called for occurred in the 11th hour of the 2025 legislative session.

Wilfong shares the harms of proposed state-level debanking legislation, including HB 418 introduced in Louisiana:

“While well intentioned, HB 418 would have further increased government intervention in the financial sector and contribute to a confusing patchwork of state-level regulations that would cause headaches for Louisiana residents and our banks. HB 418 would have been a disaster for small businesses and customers alike.”

He goes on to highlight recent actions by Congress as the right answer to reign in this government overreach, saying:

“To put an end to unintended consequences of state activity in a national issue like debanking and ensuring access to banking services, federal policymakers must enact a national standard that codifies into law that banks are prohibited from denying services for religious or political reasons while adding clarity and consistency to the regulatory process.”

When it comes to a federal solution, Wilfong points to the Financial Integrity and Regulation Management (FIRM) Act to remove “reputational risk” as a component of federal supervision to determine a bank’s safety and soundness. Wilfong explains:

“A strong federal standard, in addition to the FIRM Act, will ensure banks serve customers fairly and consistently, allowing financial institutions to uniformly serve their clients without fear of regulatory persecution… This would also hold those truly responsible for debanking accountable: overzealous federal regulators.”

Further underscoring the importance of a federal debanking fix, state Representative Roger Wilder (R-LA-71) introduced a resolution that encourages the federal government to address the issue. The bipartisan measure, HR 316, passed unanimously by a vote of 89-0. Wilfong’s opinion piece was well timed with the actions of the Louisiana legislature and signaled that Pelican State lawmakers are serious about defending against government overreach.

To read Scott Wilfong’s full op-ed in The Advocate, click HERE.