In 2013, the US Department of Justice launched Operation Choke Point to pressure some banks into cutting ties with businesses that were deemed risky or undesirable. Included in the operation were payday lenders, firearm and ammunition dealers, tobacco vendors, online gambling sites, and even escort services. The strategy was simple: If targeted banks refused to lend to controversial companies, their access to capital would dry up, eventually squeezing them out of the marketplace. Now, more than a decade later, a team of economists from the University of Rochester, University of Michigan, University of Maryland, and the Federal Reserve Board found that Operation Choke Point didn’t work.