Diversity and equality

A former employee of the banking trade group is accusing some of its executives of allegedly creating a “boy’s club” atmosphere that discriminated against women and minorities on staff.

Despite obstacles that keep women from being equally represented in the boardroom, there are steps they can take to close the gap.

"He hasn't missed any of our diversity and inclusion councils in 10 years. It starts with him and trickles down," said Sheri Bronstein, the bank's global human resources executive.

Questions surrounding Eric Blankenstein, a senior CFPB official whose racially charged writings from over a decade ago have led to calls for his resignation, have been referred to the agency's watchdog.

Financial institutions can take a few easy steps to ensure their leadership is more representative of their customer base, including looking outside of the industry for talent. Women and people of color are not that hard to find.

Women in the pipeline get some attention from a room full of top banking industry executives celebrating the Most Powerful Women rankings. California is the first to impose a quota requiring companies to increase the number of women on boards, and the Fortune 500’s newest female CEO starts today.

Companies founded by women receive significantly less than the venture capital available to all U.S. firms, but trends are improving for all startups this year, including for women-owned fintechs.

The uproar over the incendiary writings of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau official have led to calls for his removal, but the agency’s interim chief says he won’t “let any outside group dictate who works here.”

A growing number of the top lawyers at major financial institutions are women. What’s it going to take to get other departments to follow suit?

Credit union boards need to spend more time on formal CEO succession planning.

Diane Schumaker-Krieg, the global head of research, economics and strategy at Wells Fargo and a mainstay on American Banker's list of the Most Powerful Women in Finance, plans to step down at the end of the year.

At American Banker's annual Most Powerful Women in Banking gala on Thursday evening in New York, honorees urged the industry to promote more women and people of color.

Barbara Byrne, a lifetime achievement award winner, says the pace of adding diversity to C-suites must increase quickly.

Watch American Banker's Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance gala, which was recorded live on Oct. 4 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

Senate Democrats on Wednesday called for acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney to reveal the vetting process that led to the hiring of a political appointee whose past incendiary writings have caused an uproar at the agency.

For her trailblazing career on Wall Street, Byrne will be honored on Thursday at American Banker’s Most Powerful Women in Banking gala in New York.

Otting says the bank is not moving fast enough to repay customers who were unfairly sold auto insurance; lack of regulation lets traders use software to move prices.

It should come as no surprise that Meera Clark would gravitate to ventures like Morgan Stanley's Multicultural Innovation Lab, which pairs venture capital with founders from diverse backgrounds. After all, her mother, Ranjana Clark, is a disruptive trailblazer of her own at MUFG.

The head of the National Treasury Employees Union said the appointment of Eric Blankenstein to a senior role “reflects poorly on CFPB management.”

Early-morning meetings and other managerial decisions can disproportionately impact working mothers unless bank executives take notice.