Bank of America Corp., thought to be a potential target of WikiLeaks, became the latest U.S. company to ban transactions of "any type that we have reason to believe are intended for WikiLeaks," the bank said in a statement.
"This decision is based upon our reasonable belief that WikiLeaks may be engaged in activities that are, among other things, inconsistent with our internal policies for processing payments," said the statement.
WikiLeaks urged followers to respond to the bank's decision, saying via a Twitter feed on Friday evening "that all people who love freedom close out their accounts at Bank of America." In another Friday evening post it said: "place your funds somewhere safer."
MasterCard had its website shut down for several hours after enduring attacks from WikiLeaks supporters. There was no evidence Sunday of any similar disruption to Bank of America's site. A bank spokesman declined further comment Sunday.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said he is planning a release of information about a major U.S. bank. Analysts have speculated Bank of America is the likely target, citing Mr. Assange's claim that he had the 5G computer hard drive of a Bank of America executive.
