Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase also received high marks for transparency in reporting how they are paying women and employees of color, but Goldman Sachs, KeyCorp and Citizens Financial Group still have work to do, according to the advocacy investor firms Arjuna Capital and Proxy Impact.

Several organizations serving the industry are speaking out following a series of murders in Atlanta.

"On streets, online and in many Asian-owned small businesses, we are seeing physical assault, verbal harassment and refusal of service," JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon wrote in a memo to staff. "These racist acts cannot — and will not — be tolerated."

JPMorgan Chase scrubbed its bylaws of gender designations as pressure grows from both society and investors on global businesses to show they are diversifying and becoming more inclusive.

The two banks are pushing back against shareholder requests for sweeping audits of how they handle racial equity as the industry faces mounting public scrutiny of its historic role in economic disparities.

Michael Moeser, senior analyst at PaymentsSource, talks to Nikki Darden, head of global marketing integration at Citigroup; and Cheryl Guerin, executive vice president of North America marketing and communications at Mastercard, about the True Name feature on their cards.

The new group is made up of leaders from institutions with assets of $300 million or less and aims to help foster collaboration, mentorship opportunities and more.

With a steady stream of Senate hearings held on the racial wealth gap and inequities in the financial system, the new chairman has set a consumer-focused agenda that leans further left than even past Democratic chairs.

Women now account for half of Citigroup's 16-person board, the most of the 20 largest global banks, after Michael Corbat stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Jane Fraser.

The Cleveland company is more than doubling an earlier commitment in order to support racial equity and environmental sustainability.