Guarantee Banking Act

2025-2026 Bill 1069: Guarantee Banking Act - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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S. 1069
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senator Alexander
Companion/Similar bill(s): 4616, 5538
Document Path: SR-0130CEM26.docx
Introduced in the Senate on March 31, 2026
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on
Banking and Insurance
Summary: Guarantee Banking Act
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

3/31/2026

Senate

Introduced and read first time (
Senate Journal-page 5
)

3/31/2026

Senate

Referred to Committee on
Banking and Insurance
(
Senate Journal-page 5
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
03/31/2026

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS SO AS TO ENACT
THE "GUARANTEE BANKING ACT"; AND BY ADDING CHAPTER 47 TO TITLE 34 SO AS TO
DEFINE TERMS RELATED TO GUARANTEE BANKING; TO PROHIBIT A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION
FROM DISCRIMINATING AGAINST A PERSON; AND TO PROVIDE FOR FAIRNESS AND
TRANSPARENCY IN BANKING.

Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
This act may be cited as the "Guarantee Banking Act".

S
ECTION 2.
T
itle 34 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

CHAPTER 47

Guarantee Banking

S
ection
34-47-10
.
As used in this chapter:

(
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:

(
a)
any person's exercise of religion that is protected by the First Amendment to
the United States Constitution, federal law, or the Constitution or laws of
this State, including all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well
as belief and affiliation;

(
b)
any person's speech, expression, opinions, expressive activity, or association
that is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,
federal law, or the Constitution or laws of this State, including the lawful
preservation of privacy regarding those activities, such as declining to
disclose contributions or political activity beyond what is required by
applicable state and federal law. This subitem 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 person's participation in lawful economic activity;

(
d)
animus towards a person based on the factors in subitems (a), (b), or (c); 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 subitems (a), (b), or (c).

(
3)
(
a) "Financial institution"
means:

(
i)
a bank that has total assets over one hundred billion dollars; or

(
ii)
a payment processor, credit card company, credit card network, payment network,
payment service provider, or payment gateway that has processed more than one
hundred billion dollars in transactions in the last calendar year.

(
b)
A financial institution includes any parent company, holding company,
affiliate, or subsidiary company, even if that company is also a financial
institution.

(
4)
(
a) "Covered financial
service" means:

(
i)
depository accounts including, but not limited to, checking accounts, savings
accounts, or NOW accounts;

(
ii)
money transmission including, but not limited to, checking, payment services,
ACH, or credit card networks; or

(
iii)
credit including, but not limited to, personal loans, mortgages, business
loans, or credit cards.

(
b)
"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.

(
5)
"Person" means any individual, partnership, association, joint stock
company, trust, corporation, nonprofit organization, or other business or legal
entity.

S
ection
34-47-20
.
(
A) If a financial
institution takes an adverse action against a person, then that person may
request a statement of specific reasons within ninety days after receiving
notice of the refusal to provide service, restriction of service, or
termination of service.

(
B)
The person may request the statement from a customer service representative or
designated account representative by phone, U.S. mail, or electronic mail.

(
C)
Unless otherwise prohibited by federal law, the financial institution shall
transmit the statement of specific reasons via U.S. mail and electronic mail,
if known to the financial institution, within thirty days of receiving the
person's request.

(
D)
The statement must be specific and include a description of the principal
reason for the adverse action. A statement that the adverse action was based on
the institution's internal standards or policies or that the person failed to
achieve a qualifying score on the institution's credit scoring system are
insufficient. If any criteria listed in Section
34-47-10
(2) factored into the
institution's decision to take an adverse action, then it must be described in
the statement.

(
E) 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, then that statement
must be considered to satisfy the requirements of this subsection provided that
if any criteria listed in Section
34-47-10
(2) factored into the institution's
decision to take an adverse action, then it must be described in the statement,
a supplement to the statement, or a separate statement that is provided to the
customer contemporaneously with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act adverse action
statement.

S
ection
34-47-30
.
A financial institution may 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 prohibited pursuant to item (1); or

(
3)
fail to provide or provide false or intentionally misleading information in the
report required in Section
34-47-20
.

S
ection
34-47-40
.
It is not a violation of this chapter 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;

(
3) a
refusal to provide services because applicable federal or state 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.

S
ection
34-47-50
. Any violation of this chapter is an unfair or deceptive act or
practice and, in addition to the rights and remedies provided in this chapter,
the State Attorney General or other competent official may pursue any other
remedies provided for by law.

S
ection
34-47-60
.
Any person harmed by a violation of this
chapter may initiate a civil action for:

(
1)
actual damages or ten thousand dollars, whichever is greater, for each
violation. If the trier of fact finds that the violation was wilful, it may
increase the damages to an amount of up to three times the actual damages
sustained, or thirty thousand dollars, whichever is greater. A court shall
award a prevailing plaintiff reasonable attorneys' 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 chapter; or

(
3)
reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs.

S
ection
34-47-70
. If a financial institution can show by clear and convincing evidence
that the plaintiff filed a civil action pursuant to Section
34-47-60
in bad
faith, then it is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and court costs from
the plaintiff.

S
ection
34-47-80
. This chapter must 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 Constitution of South
Carolina, and state law.

S
ECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on March 31, 2026 at 12:36 PM