The New York State Department of Financial Services issued a letter Tuesday reminding lenders of amendments to the state's Community Reinvestment Act, under which banks are evaluated on how they meet the credit needs of businesses owned by women and minorities.

Amex is offering cash rewards on a global scale for customers who shop at small businesses that are trying to recover from coronavirus lockdowns. The card brand also pledged $10 million to support Black-owned small businesses over the next four years.

JPMorgan Chase is cracking down on racism by its customers. The bank is revamping a policy for dealing with abusive clients to include racism toward call-center employees as behavior that could warrant cutting ties with the customers.

Mastercard Inc. vowed to improve the diversity of its leadership ranks, saying it plans to increase the number of Black leaders at the vice president level and above by 50% by 2025.

The Fed stopped short of banning payouts entirely following bank stress tests; banks get greater freedom to invest in venture capital funds and reduced collateral on swap trades.

VCs and lenders rely on business data such as transaction records to inform funding decisions for fintechs or small businesses, but bias and uneven representation in management still result in gender and racial disparity.

The embattled German payments company filed for insolvency, while its former COO is either on the run or looking for the missing $2 billion; the giant asset manager is looking to hire more college graduates rather than poach junior bankers.

More than half of Toronto's population is foreign-born — a higher proportion than New York, Paris, London or Sydney — and about 52% identify as a visible minority. But the city's diversity fades in the upper echelons of its financial firms.

Nick Darvill, who is currently president of the credit union service organization, will take over as CEO when Jim Gallagher retires from that position.

It's imperative that financial services firms find ways to ensure all Americans have access to the banking services necessary to thrive.