How churches can avoid accidental financial crime
Paul Houghton
Misunderstandings and compliance issues have strained the relationship between churches and banks.
Let's delve into the most critical concerns: financial crime exposure and the need for better understanding and communication.
Why might a church be de-banked?
Paul Houghton
Despite perceptions of persecution discussed in our last article, the real reasons behind churches being de-banked* are more likely to be rooted in regulatory and risk management issues.
Money laundering and terrorism finance will rarely be discussed in church trustee or PCC meetings. However, they now dominate the mandatory account due diligence processes undertaken by UK banks in the 2020s. While being utterly alien to churches, it is these behind-the-scenes processes which are driving a swathe of the banks’ programme of account closures.
Do banks hate churches? Are Christians being mistreated?
Paul Houghton
Churches have become increasingly wary of big banks.
I attended several Christian conferences last year, and, at each one, someone raised concerns about de-banking (the closure of a person or organisation’s bank account by a bank that perceives them to pose a risk to the bank).