Workplace culture

As protesters continue to take to the streets to express outrage over racial injustice and inequality, banks — for the first time — will commemorate the date that marks the end of slavery in the U.S.

Many of the cultural changes instituted by Hisham Salama, one of American Banker’s 2020 digital bankers of the year, have led to a more agile tech team and higher customer satisfaction scores.

In a still male-dominated industry, does the network help attract and keep more women at the firm? CEO Shirl Penney says yes and has the results to prove it.

Kyum Kim, co-founder of the online professional network Blind, describes the impact of the coronavirus pandemic's enforced quarantine on people who work in financial services.

Grainne McNamara, financial services principal at Ernst & Young, explains that bank regulators have already been examining banks' cultures, and that's likely to continue. But banks can still fix culture problems during a pandemic.

Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase recently avoided shareholder votes tied to their use of arbitration clauses in sexual harassment cases. But socially conscious investors say the issue is likely to flare up again elsewhere and that banks would do well to address a wide range of gender equity matters head on.

Under CEO Charlie Scharf, the bank that has historically viewed itself as more Main Street than Wall Street is becoming deeply embedded in the nation’s financial capital and its hard-charging culture.

Wells is thought to be the first big U.S. bank to allow harassment victims to go to court instead of arbitration. An investment firm that advocates for progressive causes claimed credit for the policy change.

Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat said that unconscious bias has contributed to inequality in the workplace despite a decades-long effort by many companies to promote women.

Incoming CEO Charles Scharf will remain in New York even though the bank's headquarters is in San Francisco. His hiring underscores the diminished importance of geographical proximity for executives at large banks.