Diversity and equality

JPMorgan Chase, Regions Financial and TD Bank Group are among those deploying technology to level the playing field for customers of varied abilities.

Pride month is the perfect time to take a hard look at the discrimination that LGBTQ people face in the financial services industry, particularly when it comes to obtaining credit.

The pro football league plans to borrow up to $78 million over the next three years from 16 financial institutions, most of which are Black-owned or Black-led. It follows the lead of Major League Soccer, which announced a similar plan last year.

Financial institutions that received funding from the Emergency Capital Investment Program grew their loans by 35% between 2021 and 2022, according to new research. Now leaders at those institutions are turning their attention to the need for patient deposits.

Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and KeyCorp are part of a coalition that last year pledged to move $1 billion of deposits to minority depository institutions and community development financial institutions. On Thursday, organizers announced that the group has reached its goal.

The FDIC gave Cadence Bank in Mississippi the highest possible rating on its most recent Community Reinvestment Act evaluation. Cadence was the product of a 2021 merger completed just months after the acquired bank settled a federal lending discrimination case.

Six regulatory agencies are seeking public comment on a proposed rule that would establish best practices for using automated valuation models to assess collateral.

The Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania-based financial institution, from 2017 to 2021, did not sufficiently serve the credit needs of majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia, the DOJ alleges.

Challenger bank focused on serving the queer community plans to cease operations next month.

The product, designed for wealth management customers, is the first in the U.S. to implement Mastercard's Touch Card, which helps people distinguish credit, debit and prepaid cards through a notch on the card's edge.

The three-year-old law required banks and other corporations based in the nation's most populous state to appoint a minimum number of board members from designated underrepresented communities. A federal judge said that it imposed an unconstitutional racial quota.

The bank is focusing on pre-seed companies that specialize in fintech or other forms of technology and have diverse founders.

Gov. Jay Inslee has signed a law that will offer loans to minority borrowers to help cover down payments and closing costs. Supporters say it will benefit groups that were victimized by racially restrictive real estate covenants.

Because the Canadian bank pulled the plug on its takeover of Memphis-based First Horizon, a deal it negotiated with community groups won't take effect. Still, community groups are asking TD to uphold portions of the agreement.

The Cleveland-based bank says it will submit to a racial equity audit conducted by an outside law firm, as Citigroup and Wells Fargo have previously done. The bank's decision follows a request that regulators investigate Key's mortgage lending practices for alleged redlining.

Kaua'i Federal Credit Union in Lihue is launching an "economic resiliency center" for members in the Kapa'a community. It hopes to support minority-owned businesses throughout the area by providing access to housing resources and other funding.

Goldman Sachs Group is in talks to settle a high-profile lawsuit alleging gender pay disparity, ahead of going to trial next month, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The Minneapolis bank has launched a special-purpose credit program that aims to help businesses owned by women, minorities and veterans. Borrowers with comparatively low credit scores and cash flows will qualify for lending products of up to $2.5 million.

Prosecutors claim every dollar in subsidy funds from settlements equates to ten times the amount in value in home lending efforts.

Texas National Bank in Mercedes, Texas, is testing how alternative data can improve the speed and accuracy with which it lends to its small-business customers.