Like most people, at-large Councilmember Zulfat Suara was used to getting inconsequential mail from her bank. So when she received a letter from Regions Bank, where she has been a customer for almost two decades, she didn’t think much of it.
But when she finally opened the letter, dated Jan. 2, the certified public accountant discovered that it was anything but inconsequential.
“They wanted me to close my account by Feb. 2,” Suara told the Banner. “And I was like, ‘This is a joke.’ ” Or worse. “Somebody must have used the Regions logo to send me a scam,” she thought, “and they want me to respond so that they can get my information.”
But after some investigation, Suara discovered that it was real. With no explanation and no prior warning, Regions was requiring her to close out all her accounts, which included accounts for multiple nonprofits, her credit card, her line of credit, her checking account and her savings account.
“Everything was Regions,” said Suara. Closing these accounts disrupted everything from her ability to pay staff and rent, to using Venmo and paying her TV streaming subscription.
The letter only informed Suara that Regions would be closing her accounts, but gave no explanation. The three most common reasons for banks to close someone’s account are fraud, money laundering and bounced checks. Suara said that none of those applied to her, so she began trying to understand why this might have happened, even making use of connections she’s made as a public figure in Nashville to get in contact with upper management at Regions. But after exhausting every avenue, she never received any explanation, and at the end of every conversation she got the same answer: “There’s nothing I can do.”
Suara, who is Muslim, suspected that she might have fallen victim to a common pattern.
A report released last year found that one quarter of Muslims face challenges while banking with U.S. banks and financial institutions. While only 12 percent of the general public face challenges such as being denied an account, having an account suspended or closed, or having payments go under investigation, 27 percent of Muslims run into these problems.
Additionally, the study found Muslims are more than twice as likely to face challenges with business accounts, and more than three times as likely to face challenges with nonprofit accounts. Suara’s biggest nonprofit account was for the American Muslim Advisory Council, a group that advocates for Tennessee Muslims. After receiving no explanation from Regions, Suara said the only conclusion she can come up with is that her account was closed due to profiling.
“Maybe it’s not because I’m a Muslim, but is it because I’m Black?” Suara wondered. “Whether it’s Black or Muslim or something, I fit the profile, so there you go.”
Whatever the reason, it remains a mystery. Suara said that in the past she has sent money via Western Union to Nigeria, which is where she emigrated from in the 1990s and where she still has family members, including a daughter. This has never caused any problems before, as far as she knows.
“While I cannot comment on individual accounts out of respect for customer privacy laws, I can share that Regions does not make account decisions based on race, politics or religion,” said a spokesperson for Regions.
Suara said that in the nearly 20 years she has been with Regions Bank, the only thing she could think of that has changed is that she has recently begun posting on social media calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.