Wells Fargo just terminated the account of a well known gun dealer who had been mentioned in articles by major news publications. And they did it with no real explanation.
The closest thing to an explanation Brandon Wexler got was this: “Banking guidelines excludes lending to certain types of businesses.”
I think that right there says it all. This is an attack on the gun industry.
Here’s more from The Reload:
Wells Fargo abruptly ended its business with a well-known gun dealer in a move emblematic of the increasing hostility big banks are showing towards the firearms industry.
With little explanation, the bank closed the business and personal accounts of Brandon Wexler just before Christmas. After 25 years with a personal account and 14 years with a business account, Wexler was given about a month to find a new bank. As owner of Wex Gunworks in Delray Beach, Florida, Wexler has been cited in countless major media reports for years, but Wells Fargo said his business had suddenly become too risky.
“Wells Fargo performs ongoing reviews of its account relationships in connection with the Bank’s responsibilities to manage risks in its banking operations,” the bank said in a December 22nd letter to Wexler. “We recently reviewed your account relationship and, as a result of this review, we will be closing your above-referenced accounts.”
Another letter sent the following day informing Wexler that Wells Fargo was canceling his business line of credit said, “the reason(s) for this action is: Banking guidelines excludes lending to certain types of businesses.” But the letters offered no further details, and Wexler said none of the officials at his local branch offered any either.
“I’ve been with them for 25 years,” he told The Reload. “I’m a professional fireman. I do everything the right way. It’s messed up.”
Wexler, who has been cited in stories by the New York Times, Washington Free Beacon, CNN, ABC, and many more publications, said nothing had changed with his business. He said he believed the move by Wells Fargo was motivated entirely by animus against the gun industry.
“It feels like it’s a direct attack against gun dealers,” he said. “This all just happened recently, and we have been in business for many years. I’ve never ever seen anything like this.”
Jennifer L. Langan, Head of communications for CSBB & Consumer Lending at Wells Fargo, disputed Wexler’s claim that the closures were due to his work as a gun dealer.
“Based on our analysis of the risk associated with this customer, we made a decision to close the accounts,” she told The Reload. “Our decision is not based on the industry.”
She said she could not disclose the details behind the decision, but reiterated that Wells Fargo has never announced a policy against doing business with gun companies.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), which represents gun makers and dealers, said what happened to Wexler is part of a growing trend.
“Wells Fargo’s decision to abruptly cancel all business ties with Wex Gunworks is the most recent example of “woke” banking discrimination against the firearm industry,” Mark Oliva, an NSSF spokesman, told The Reload.
Wells Fargo’s spokesperson can say this is not an attack on the gun industry, but I absolutely don’t believe it.
Wexler maintains he did nothing wrong and that he’s been with them for 25 years. And yet they canceled him without really explaining why.
That’s because there was no good reason or they would have mentioned it. What really happened is that high up people at Wells Fargo decided they didn’t like his gun business after all the attention it was getting from the media and just canceled him. But they’ll never admit that.