Mississippi Guaranteeing Fair Banking Act; create.

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To: Banking and Financial
Services
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representatives Aguirre, Anthony

HOUSE BILL NO. 1237

AN ACT TO BE KNOWN AS THE MISSISSIPPI GUARANTEEING FAIR 1
BANKING ACT; TO PROVIDE THAT, IF A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION TAKES AN 2
ADVERSE ACTION AGAINST A PERSON, THAT PERSON MAY REQUEST A 3
STATEMENT OF SPECIFIC REASONS FOR THE ADVERSE ACTION; TO PROHIBIT 4
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FROM DISCRIMINATING IN THE PROVISION OF 5
FINANCIAL SERVICES TO A PERSON DUE TO A PERSON'S RELIGION, SPEECH 6
OR PARTICIPATION IN A LAWFUL ECONOMIC ACTIVITY; TO PROVIDE DAMAGES 7
FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 75-24-5, MISSISSIPPI 8
CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT A VIOLATION OF THIS ACT SHALL BE AN 9
UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE TRADE ACT OR PRACTICE; TO BRING FORWARD 10
SECTIONS 81-1-119, 81-12-211 AND 81-14-201, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 11
1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED 12
PURPOSES. 13
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 14
SECTION 1. (1) Title. This act shall be known and may be 15
cited as the "Mississippi Guaranteeing Fair Banking Act". 16
(2) Definitions. As used in this section, the following 17
terms have the meanings as defined in this subsection, unless the 18
context clearly indicates otherwise: 19
(a) "Adverse action" means a decision by a financial 20
institution to directly or indirectly decline to provide full and 21
equal enjoyment in the provision of covered financial services, 22
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including, but not limited to, by refusing to provide, terminating 23
or restricting covered financial services. 24
(b) "Covered financial service" means: 25
(i) Depository accounts, including, but not 26
limited to, checking accounts, savings accounts or NOW accounts; 27
(ii) Money transmission, including, but not 28
limited to, checking, payment services, ACH or credit card 29
networks; 30
(iii) Credit, including, but not limited to, 31
personal loans, mortgages, business loans or credit cards; but 32
The term "covered financial service" does not include the 33
provision of insurance or the underwriting of or an investment in 34
a security as defined by federal law. 35
(c) "Discriminate in the provision of covered financial 36
services" means to take an adverse action against a customer on 37
the basis of any of the following criteria: 38
(i) Any person's exercise of religion, including 39
all aspects of religious observance, practice, belief and 40
affiliation, that is protected by the First Amendment to the 41
United States Constitution, Section 18 of the Mississippi 42
Constitution, or any federal or state law, including the Religious 43
Freedom Restoration Act, 42 USC Section 2000bb et seq., and the 44
Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Section 11-61-1 et 45
seq.; 46
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(ii) Any person's speech, expression, opinions, 47
expressive activity or association, including the lawful 48
preservation of privacy regarding those activities, such as 49
declining to disclose contributions or political activity beyond 50
what is required by applicable state and federal law, that is 51
protected by the First Amendment to the United States 52
Constitution, Section 13 of the Mississippi Constitution, or 53
federal or state law, provided that this subparagraph (ii) does 54
not include speech that the United States Supreme Court has 55
expressly held is unprotected, such as obscenity, fraud, 56
incitement, true threats, fighting words, defamation or speech 57
integral to conduct that constitutes a civil or criminal offense 58
under applicable federal or state law; 59
(iii) Any person's participation in economic 60
activity that is lawful under federal or state law; 61
(iv) Animus towards a person based on the factors 62
in subparagraphs (i) through (iii); or 63
(v) A desire to, directly or indirectly, obtain a 64
gain from or avoid a loss imposed on the covered financial 65
institution by any person for the purpose of encouraging the 66
covered financial institution to take an adverse action based on 67
any of the factors in subparagraphs (i) through (iii). 68
(d) "Financial institution" means, notwithstanding 69
Section 81-5-64(1)(a): 70
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(i) A bank that has total assets over Ten Billion 71
Dollars ($10,000,000,000.00); or 72
(ii) A payment processor, credit card company, 73
credit card network, payment network, payment service provider or 74
payment gateway that has processed more than Ten Billion Dollars 75
($10,000,000,000.00) in transactions in the last calendar year. A 76
financial institution includes any parent company, holding 77
company, affiliate or subsidiary company, even if that company is 78
also a financial institution. 79
(e) "Person" means any individual, partnership, 80
association, joint stock company, trust, corporation, nonprofit 81
organization or other business or legal entity. 82
(3) Transparency in banking. (a) If a financial 83
institution takes an adverse action against a person, that person 84
may request a statement of specific reasons for the adverse 85
action. Such person shall make a request within ninety (90) days 86
after receiving notice of the adverse action. 87
(b) The person may request an adverse action statement 88
under this subsection (3) from a customer service representative 89
or designated account representative for the financial institution 90
by phone, U.S. mail or electronic mail. 91
(c) Unless otherwise prohibited by federal law, the 92
financial institution shall transmit the adverse action statement 93
via U.S. mail and electronic mail, if the recipient's electronic 94
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mailing address is known to the financial institution, within 95
thirty (30) days of receiving a request. 96
(d) The adverse action statement must be specific and 97
include a description of the principal reason or reasons for the 98
adverse action. A statement that the adverse action was based on 99
the institution's internal standards or policies or that the 100
person failed to achieve a qualifying score on the institution's 101
credit scoring system is insufficient. If any criteria listed in 102
subsection (2)(c) of this section factored into the institution's 103
decision to take an adverse action, such criteria must be 104
described in the statement. 105
(e) If the financial institution provides an adverse 106
action statement to the customer consistent with its obligations 107
under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), 15 USC Section 1691 108
et seq., and implementing regulations, that statement shall be 109
considered to satisfy the requirements of this subsection (3), 110
provided that if any criteria listed in subsection (2)(c) of this 111
section factored into the institution's decision to take an 112
adverse action, such criteria must be described in the statement, 113
a supplement to the statement, or a separate statement that is 114
provided to the customer contemporaneously with the adverse action 115
statement. 116
(4) Prohibitions on discriminatory actions. A financial 117
institution shall not: 118
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(a) Discriminate in the provision of financial services 119
to a person; 120
(b) Agree, conspire or coordinate, directly or 121
indirectly, including through any intermediary or third party, 122
with another person, or group of persons, to engage in activity 123
prohibited under subsection (4)(a) of this section; or 124
(c) Fail to provide or provide false or intentionally 125
misleading information in the report required in subsection (3) of 126
this section. 127
(5) Exceptions. It shall not be a violation of this act for 128
a financial institution to take any of the following actions, 129
provided that the action was made in good faith and not motivated 130
by animus or a desire to discriminate in the provision of covered 131
financial services against a person: 132
(a) A change in the terms of an account expressly 133
agreed to by a customer; 134
(b) Any action or forbearance relating to an account 135
taken in connection with inactivity, default or delinquency as to 136
that account; 137
(c) A refusal to provide services because applicable 138
federal or Mississippi law prohibits the covered financial 139
institution from providing the service requested; 140
(d) A refusal to provide a service because the covered 141
financial institution does not offer the type of service 142
requested; or 143
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(e) A decision based solely on any of the following 144
valid business factors, if made in an impartial manner and in good 145
faith: 146
(i) Maximizing profitability or shareholder value, 147
provided that this determination is not based on a desire to 148
obtain a benefit or avoid a harm imposed by another person because 149
the covered financial institution served a customer; 150
(ii) Complying with legitimate legal or regulatory 151
requirements; or 152
(iii) Maintaining the safety and soundness of a 153
covered financial institution or its employees. 154
(6) Unfair or deceptive acts. Any violation of this section 155
shall be an unfair or deceptive trade act or practice declared 156
unlawful by Section 75-24-5 and, in addition to the rights and 157
remedies provided in this act, the Attorney General or other 158
competent official may pursue any other remedies provided for 159
under Section 75-24-1 et seq. 160
(7) Legal remedies for violations. Any person harmed by a 161
violation of this act may initiate a civil action for any of the 162
following: 163
(a) Actual damages, or Ten Thousand Dollars 164
($10,000.00), whichever is greater, for each violation. If the 165
trier of fact finds that the violation was willful, the damages 166
may be increased to an amount of up to three (3) times the actual 167
damages sustained, or Thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000.00), 168
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whichever is greater. A court shall award a prevailing plaintiff 169
reasonable attorney's fees and court costs; 170
(b) Preventive relief, including an application for a 171
permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order or other 172
order as is necessary to enforce the requirements of this act, and 173
(c) Reasonable attorney's fees and court costs. 174
(8) Bad faith claims. If a financial institution can show 175
by clear and convincing evidence that the plaintiff filed a civil 176
action pursuant to subsection (7) of this section in bad faith, it 177
shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and court costs 178
from the plaintiff. 179
(9) Rules of construction. This act shall be construed in 180
favor of the broad protection of the conduct, opinions and beliefs 181
protected by the First Amendment to the United States 182
Constitution, applicable federal laws, the Constitution of the 183
State of Mississippi and state law. 184
SECTION 2. Section 75-24-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 185
amended as follows: 186
75-24-5. (1) Unfair methods of competition affecting 187
commerce and unfair or deceptive trade practices in or affecting 188
commerce are prohibited. Action may be brought under Section 189
75-24-5(1) only under the provisions of Section 75-24-9. 190
(2) Without limiting the scope of subsection (1) of this 191
section, the following unfair methods of competition and unfair or 192
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deceptive trade practices or acts in the conduct of any trade or 193
commerce are hereby prohibited: 194
(a) Passing off goods or services as those of another; 195
(b) Misrepresentation of the source, sponsorship, 196
approval, or certification of goods or services; 197
(c) Misrepresentation of affiliation, connection, or 198
association with, or certification by another; 199
(d) Misrepresentation of designations of geographic 200
origin in connection with goods or services; 201
(e) Representing that goods or services have 202
sponsorship, approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses, 203
benefits, or quantities that they do not have or that a person has 204
a sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection that 205
he does not have; 206
(f) Representing that goods are original or new if they 207
are reconditioned, reclaimed, used, or secondhand; 208
(g) Representing that goods or services are of a 209
particular standard, quality, or grade, or that goods are of a 210
particular style or model, if they are of another; 211
(h) Disparaging the goods, services, or business of 212
another by false or misleading representation of fact; 213
(i) Advertising goods or services with intent not to 214
sell them as advertised; 215
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(j) Advertising goods or services with intent not to 216
supply reasonably expectable public demand, unless the 217
advertisement discloses a limitation of quantity; 218
(k) Misrepresentations of fact concerning the reasons 219
for, existence of, or amounts of price reductions; 220
(l) Advertising by or on behalf of any licensed or 221
regulated health care professional which does not specifically 222
describe the license or qualifications of the licensed or 223
regulated health care professional; 224
(m) Charging an increased premium for reinstating a 225
motor vehicle insurance policy that was cancelled or suspended by 226
the insured solely for the reason that he was transferred out of 227
this state while serving in the United States Armed Forces or on 228
active duty in the National Guard or United States Armed Forces 229
Reserve. It is also an unfair practice for an insurer to charge 230
an increased premium for a new motor vehicle insurance policy if 231
the applicant for coverage or his covered dependents were 232
previously insured with a different insurer and canceled that 233
policy solely for the reason that he was transferred out of this 234
state while serving in the United States Armed Forces or on active 235
duty in the National Guard or United States Armed Forces Reserve. 236
For purposes of determining premiums, an insurer shall consider 237
such persons as having maintained continuous coverage. The 238
provisions of this paragraph (m) shall apply only to such 239
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instances when the insured does not drive the vehicle during the 240
period of cancellation or suspension of his policy; 241
(n) Violating the provisions of Section 75-24-8; 242
(o) Violating the provisions of Section 73-3-38; 243
(p) Violating any of the provisions of Title 41, 244
Chapter 149, Mississippi Code of 1972; and 245
(q) Violating any of the provisions of Title 45, 246
Chapter 38, Mississippi Code of 1972. 247
(r) Violating any of the provisions of Title 41, 248
Chapter 151, Mississippi Code of 1972. 249
(s) Violating any of the provisions of Title 81, 250
Chapter 31, Mississippi Code of 1972. 251
SECTION 3. Section 81-1-119, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 252
brought forward as follows: 253
81-1-119. (1) If any person or state bank is engaging in, 254
or has engaged in, or is about to engage in, any unsafe or unsound 255
practice, or unfair and discriminatory practice, in conducting the 256
bank's business, or violation of any other law, rule, regulation, 257
order or condition imposed in writing by the commissioner, the 258
commissioner may issue a notice of charges to such person or 259
institution. A notice of charges shall specify the acts alleged 260
to sustain a cease and desist order, and state the time and place 261
at which a hearing shall be held. A hearing before the 262
commissioner on the charges shall be held no earlier than seven 263
(7) days, and no later than fifteen (15) days, after issuance of 264
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the notice. The charged institution is entitled to a further 265
extension of seven (7) days upon filing a request with the 266
commissioner. The commissioner may also issue a notice of charges 267
if he has reasonable grounds to believe that any person or bank is 268
about to engage in any unsafe or unsound business practice, or any 269
violation of this chapter, or any other law, rule, regulation or 270
order. If, by a preponderance of the evidence, it is shown that 271
any person or bank is engaged in, or has been engaged in, or is 272
about to engage in, any unsafe or unsound business practice, or 273
unfair and discriminatory practice or any violation of this 274
chapter, or any other law, rule, regulation or order, a cease and 275
desist order shall be issued which shall be permanently binding 276
upon the person or institution until terminated by the 277
commissioner. 278
(2) If any person or state bank is engaging in, has engaged 279
in, or is about to engage in any unsafe or unsound practice, or 280
unfair and discriminatory practice, in conducting the bank's 281
business, or any violation of any law, rules, regulation, order or 282
condition imposed in writing by the commissioner, and the 283
commissioner has determined that immediate corrective action is 284
required, the commissioner may issue a temporary cease and desist 285
order without prior notice. A temporary cease and desist order 286
shall be effective immediately upon issuance for a period of 287
fifteen (15) days, and may be extended once for a period of 288
fifteen (15) days. Such an order shall state its duration on its 289
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face and the words "Temporary Cease and Desist Order." A hearing 290
before the commissioner shall be held within the time that the 291
order remains effective, at which time a temporary order may be 292
dissolved or made permanent. 293
SECTION 4. Section 81-12-211, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 294
brought forward as follows: 295
81-12-211. (1) If any person or association is engaging in, 296
or has engaged in, or is about to engage in, any unsafe or unsound 297
practice, or unfair and discriminatory practice, in conducting the 298
association’s business, or violation of any other law, rule, 299
regulation, order or condition imposed in writing by the 300
commissioner, the commissioner may issue a notice of charges to 301
such person or institution. A notice of charges shall specify the 302
acts alleged to sustain a cease and desist order, and state the 303
time and place at which a hearing shall be held. A hearing before 304
the commissioner on the charges shall be held no earlier than 305
seven (7) days, and no later than fifteen (15) days, after 306
issuance of the notice. The charged institution is entitled to a 307
further extension of seven (7) days upon filing a request with the 308
commissioner. The commissioner may also issue a notice of charges 309
if he has reasonable grounds to believe that any person or 310
association is about to engage in any unsafe or unsound business 311
practice, or any violation of this chapter, or any other law, 312
rule, regulation or order. If, by a preponderance of the evidence, 313
it is shown that any person or association is engaged in, or has 314
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been engaged in, or is about to engage in, any unsafe or unsound 315
business practice, or unfair and discriminatory practice or any 316
violation of this chapter, or any other law, rule, regulation or 317
order, a cease and desist order shall be issued which shall be 318
permanently binding upon the person or institution until 319
terminated by the commissioner. 320
(2) If any person or association is engaging in, has engaged 321
in, or is about to engage in any unsafe or unsound practice, or 322
unfair and discriminatory practice, in conducting the 323
association's business, or any violation of any law, rules, 324
regulation, order or condition imposed in writing by the 325
commissioner, and the commissioner has determined that immediate 326
corrective action is required, the commissioner may issue a 327
temporary cease and desist order without prior notice. A 328
temporary cease and desist order shall be effective immediately 329
upon issuance for a period of fifteen (15) days, and may be 330
extended once for a period of fifteen (15) days. Such an order 331
shall state its duration on its face and the words “Temporary 332
Cease and Desist Order.” A hearing before the commissioner shall 333
be held within the time that the order remains effective, at which 334
time a temporary order may be dissolved or made permanent. 335
SECTION 5. Section 81-14-201, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 336
brought forward as follows: 337
81-14-201. (1) If any person or savings bank is engaging 338
in, or has engaged in, or is about to engage in, any unsafe or 339
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unsound practice, or unfair and discriminatory practice, in 340
conducting the savings bank's business, or violation of any other 341
law, rule, regulation, order or condition imposed in writing by 342
the commissioner, the commissioner may issue a notice of charges 343
to such person or institution. A notice of charges shall specify 344
the acts alleged to sustain a cease and desist order, and state 345
the time and place at which a hearing shall be held. A hearing 346
before the commissioner on the charges shall be held no earlier 347
than seven (7) days, and no later than fifteen (15) days, after 348
issuance of the notice. The charged institution is entitled to a 349
further extension of seven (7) days upon filing a request with the 350
commissioner. The commissioner may also issue a notice of charges 351
if he has reasonable grounds to believe that any person or savings 352
bank is about to engage in any unsafe or unsound business 353
practice, or any violation of this chapter, or any other law, 354
rule, regulation or order. If, by a preponderance of the 355
evidence, it is shown that any person or savings bank is engaged 356
in, or has been engaged in, or is about to engage in, any unsafe 357
or unsound business practice, or unfair and discriminatory 358
practice or any violation of this chapter, or any other law, rule, 359
regulation or order, a cease and desist order shall be issued 360
which shall be permanently binding upon the person or institution 361
until terminated by the commissioner. 362
(2) If any person or state savings bank is engaging in, has 363
engaged in, or is about to engage in any unsafe or unsound 364
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ST: Mississippi Guaranteeing Fair Banking Act;
create.
practice, or unfair and discriminatory practice, in conducting the 365
savings bank's business, or any violation of the act or of any 366
other law, rules, regulation, order or condition imposed in 367
writing by the commissioner, and the commissioner has determined 368
that immediate corrective action is required, the commissioner may 369
issue a temporary cease and desist order without prior notice. A 370
temporary cease and desist order shall be effective immediately 371
upon issuance for a period of fifteen (15) days, and may be 372
extended once for a period of fifteen (15) days. Such an order 373
shall state its duration on its face and the words "Temporary 374
Cease and Desist Order." A hearing before the commissioner shall 375
be held within the time that the order remains effective, at which 376
time a temporary order may be dissolved or made permanent. 377
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from 378
and after July 1, 2026. 379