A webinar took place on 11 May 2017 on the issue of nonprofits around the world having difficulty accessing banking services. Financial regulations in countries, rooted in a comprehensive counter-terror finance regime as well as the ever-shifting political landscape, set the stage for financial institutions around the globe to continually re-evaluate their risk profiles. As a result, accounts are closed or never opened, wire transfers are delayed and correspondent banking relationships severed. This, in turn, impacts vital humanitarian aid, development, peacebuilding, human rights, and other programming.

Two recent reports examine the scope and impacts of this problem. Financial Access for U.S. Nonprofits, by the Charity & Security Network, provides the first empirical data on the issue and sets out a series of recommendations. Tightening the Purse Strings, by the Women Peacemakers Program and Duke Law International Human Rights Clinic, looks at the effects of counter-terrorism finance measures on gender equality and security.

The webinar featured the authors of the two studies, along with a discussion of work streams currently underway at the World Bank intended to craft solutions. For a link to the entire webinar, see here. For the slides, see here.

The speakers were:
Sue Eckert, Center for a New American Security
Andrea Hall, Charity & Security Network
Isabelle Geuskens, Women Peacemakers Program
Jayne Huckerby, Duke University School of Law
Emile Van Der Does de Willebois, World Bank

The webinar was moderated by Kay Guinane of the Charity & Security Network.