Diversity and equality

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.

Minority depository institutions are well-placed to direct money from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to high-impact projects in underserved communities.

Diversity, equity and inclusion has only grown in importance to the financial services industry over the last few years. For that reason, DEI philosophies are becoming a bigger concern as buyers and sellers try to determine how their corporate cultures might mesh.

Adapted Accessibility is a browser plug-in that will help employees, and eventually customers, more effectively browse the web by setting on-screen preferences.

One day after Provident Financial Services agreed to buy Lakeland Bancorp, the latter bank reached a redlining settlement with the Department of Justice. Now there are calls for regulators who are reviewing the deal to require the same of more banks.

Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown wants regulators to hold public meetings on branch shutdowns in situations where community members request them. His request follows opposition to a closure in a low-income section of Toledo, Ohio.

More than 90% of appraisers are white, and researchers have found that bias leads to lower valuations for homeowners of color. A Flagstar executive said the mortgage-focused bank is "not just going to sit on the sidelines and watch this happen."