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ENGROSSED HOUSE
BILL NO. 3172 By: Lepak and Staires of the
House
and
Bergstrom and Jett of the
Senate
An Act relating to banking and financial
institutions; creating the Fair Banking Act; defining
terms; authorizing persons to request a statement of
reasons for any adverse action taken against a person
by a financial institution; providing for means of
transmittal of statement; requiring specificity in
statements and reason for adverse action; permitting
Equal Credit Opportunity Act adverse action statement
to satisfy requirement; prohibiting a financial
institution from discriminating in the provision of
financial services to a person; excluding certain
conduct by a financial institution if made in good
faith and not motivated by desire to discriminate in
the provision of covered financial services; making
certain violations unlawful under the Oklahoma
Consumer Protection Act; creating civil cause of
action for certain violations; providing remedies;
creating relief for financial institutions for bad
faith claims; providing construing provision;
providing for noncodification; providing for
codification; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law not to be
codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows:
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Fair Banking
Act".
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SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1530 of Title 6, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. As used in this section:
1. "Adverse action" means a decision by a financial institution
to directly or indirectly decline to provide full and equal
enjoyment in the provision of covered financial services and
includes refusing to provide, terminating, or restricting covered
financial services;
2. "Discriminate in the provision of covered financial
services" means taking an adverse action against a customer on the
basis of one of the following criteria:
a. any exercise of religion by a person that is
protected by the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution, Section 2 of Article I of the Oklahoma
Constitution, or federal or state law, including all
aspects of religious observance and practice, as well
as belief and affiliation,
b. any speech, expression, opinions, expressive
activity, or association by a person that is
protected by the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution, Section 22 of Article II of the
Oklahoma Constitution, or federal or state law,
including the lawful preservation of privacy
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regarding those activities, such as declining to
disclose contributions or political activity beyond
what is required by applicable state and federal law.
Provided that this subparagraph does not include
speech that the United States Supreme Court has
expressly held is unprotected, such as obscenity,
fraud, incitement, true threats, fighting words, or
defamation,
c. any participation by a person in lawful economic
activity,
d. animus towards a person based on the factors in
subparagraphs a through c of this paragraph, and
e. a desire to, directly or indirectly, obtain a gain
from or avoid a loss imposed on the covered financial
institution by any person for the purpose of
encouraging the covered financial institution to take
an adverse action based on any of the factors in
subparagraphs a through c of this paragraph;
3. "Financial institution" means:
a. a bank that has total assets over One Hundred Billion
Dollars ($100,000,000,000.00), or
b. a payment processor, credit card company, credit card
network, payment network, payment service provider,
or payment gateway that has processed more than One
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Hundred Billion Dollars ($100,000,000,000.00) in
transactions in the last calendar year.
A financial institution includes any parent company, holding
company, affiliate, or subsidiary company, even if that company is
also a financial institution;
4. "Covered financial service" means:
a. depository accounts including, but not limited to,
checking accounts, savings accounts, or NOW accounts,
b. money transmission including, but not limited to,
checking, payment services, ACH, or credit card
networks, or
c. credit including, but not limited to, personal loans,
mortgages, business loans, or credit cards.
Covered financial service does not include the provision of
insurance or the underwriting of or an investment in a security as
defined by federal law; and
5. "Person" means any individual, partnership, association,
joint stock company, trust, corporation, nonprofit organization, or
other business or legal entity.
B. 1. If a financial institution takes an adverse action
against a person, that person may request a statement of specific
reasons within ninety (90) days after receiving notice of the
refusal to provide, restriction of, or termination of service. The
person may request the statement from a customer service
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representative or designated account representative by phone, United
States mail, or electronic mail. Unless otherwise prohibited by
federal law, the financial institution shall transmit the statement
of specific reasons via United States mail and electronic mail, if
known to the financial institution, within thirty (30) days of
receiving the request by the person.
2. The statement shall be specific and include a description of
the principal reason or reasons for the adverse action. A statement
that the adverse action was based on the internal standards or
policies of the institution or that the person failed to achieve a
qualifying score on the credit scoring system of the institution are
insufficient. If any criteria listed in paragraph 2 of subsection A
of this section factored into the decision by the institution to
take an adverse action, the criteria shall be described in the
statement.
3. If the financial institution provides an adverse action
statement to the customer consistent with its obligations under the
Equal Credit Opportunity Act, 15 U.S.C., Section 1691 et. seq., and
implementing regulations, that statement shall be considered to
satisfy the requirements of this subsection, provided that if any
criteria listed in paragraph 2 of subsection A of this section
factored into the decision by the institution to take an adverse
action, the criteria shall be described in the statement, a
supplement to the statement, or a separate statement that is
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provided to the customer contemporaneously with the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act adverse action statement.
C. A financial institution shall not:
1. Discriminate in the provision of financial services to a
person;
2. Agree, conspire, or coordinate, directly or indirectly,
including through any intermediary or third party, with another
person, or group of persons, to engage in activity to discriminate
in the provision of financial services to a person; or
3. Fail to provide, or provide false or intentionally
misleading, information in the report required in subsection B of
this section.
D. It shall not be a violation of this act for a financial
institution to take any of the following actions, provided that the
action was made in good faith and not motivated by animus or a
desire to discriminate in the provision of covered financial
services against a person:
1. A change in the terms of an account expressly agreed to by a
customer;
2. Any action or forbearance relating to an account taken in
connection with inactivity, default, or delinquency as to that
account;
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3. A refusal to provide services because applicable federal or
Oklahoma law prohibits the covered financial institution from
providing the service requested;
4. A refusal to provide a service because the covered financial
institution does not offer the type of service requested; or
5. A decision based solely on any of the following valid
business factors, if made in an impartial manner and in good faith:
a. maximizing profitability or shareholder value, provided
this determination is not based on a desire to obtain a
benefit or avoid a harm imposed by another person
because the covered financial institution served a
customer,
b. complying with legitimate legal or regulatory
requirements, or
c. maintaining the safety and soundness of a covered
financial institution or its employees.
E. Any violation of this section shall be an unfair or
deceptive act or practice declared unlawful by Section 753 of Title
15 of the Oklahoma Statutes and, in addition to the rights and
remedies provided in this section, the Oklahoma Attorney General or
other competent official may pursue any other remedies provided for
under the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act.
F. Any person harmed by a violation of this section may
initiate a civil action for any of the following:
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1. Actual damages, or Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00),
whichever is greater, for each violation. If the trier of fact
finds that the violation was willful, the trier of fact may increase
the damages to an amount of up to three (3) times the actual damages
sustained, or Thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000.00), whichever is
greater. A court shall award a prevailing plaintiff reasonable
attorney fees and court costs;
2. Preventive relief, including an application for a permanent
or temporary injunction, restraining order, or other order as is
necessary to enforce the requirements of this section; or
3. Reasonable attorney fees and court costs.
G. If a financial institution can show by clear and convincing
evidence that the plaintiff filed a civil action pursuant to
subsection F of this section in bad faith, the financial institution
shall be entitled to reasonable attorney fees and court costs from
the plaintiff.
H. This act shall be construed in favor of the broad protection
of the conduct, opinions, and beliefs protected by the First
Amendment to the United States Constitution, applicable federal
laws, the Oklahoma Constitution, and state law.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
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Passed the House of Representatives the 10th day of March, 2026.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
Passed the Senate the _____ day of __________, 2026.
Presiding Officer of the Senate