Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis issued the following statement on ‘woke’ banks in the Sunshine State.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis announced that 117 banks in Florida signed the attestation agreeing not to politically discriminate, thereby designating as Qualified Public Depositories (QPD), which are banks who are legally allowed to accept public dollars which include state or local government funds. This follows the signing of House Bill 3 into law last year which works to prevent the qualification of a bank as a QPD, if they are engaged in any “unsafe and unsound practices” of canceling its services based on personal beliefs whether it be political, religious or any other factor that shows impartiality. QPDs will have to certify that they are in total compliance with the requirements of the bill. To view a full listing of QPDs, click HERE. Additionally, to submit a complaint, click HERE.
“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,” Patronis said. “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. I am proud that we now have safeguards like this that will allow Floridians to do what they want with their hard-earned cash, without having to worry about a sudden denial or cancellation of services. 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.”
