Diversity and equality

The parent company of Silicon Valley Bank has hired a law firm to assess its "Access to Innovation" effort. That program aims to provide support, including more funding, to startups and venture firms that were started by women and members of certain minority groups.

Jamie Fiore Higgins, a former executive at Goldman Sachs, describes the toxic work environment she endured during her 18 years at the investment bank in her memoir, "Bully Market."

The country's largest banks should deepen partnerships with minority depository institutions and community development financial institutions, and regulators should facilitate that process.

Europe's biggest banks are falling behind on their promises to promote more women, at least when measured by the very top jobs. 

The megabank rolled out new and expanded employee diversity targets that it aims to meet by 2025. The goals include placing more Hispanics in leadership roles and boosting the number of LGBTQ+ members the company hires from colleges and universities.

Adrienne Harris, superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services, previewed the agency's upcoming climate guidance in an interview with American Banker. Banks "cannot sacrifice" their fair lending and equity obligations "in order to mitigate climate risk," she said.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is investigating allegations that the real estate appraisal standards written by the Washington nonprofit perpetuate discrimination.

The fourth-largest U.S. bank by assets has commissioned an outside law firm to assess its diversity practices. Wells had previously resisted a shareholder proposal that would have authorized a similar review.

Over the course of 10 years, the bank's Disability Advocacy Network has implemented other initiatives to improve interactions with staff members and customers with disabilities or cognitive disorders.

Sarver, who owns the NBA's Phoenix Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, is facing a one-year suspension and a $10 million fine after an investigation found evidence of workplace misconduct. The Arizona bank where Sarver previously served as chairman and CEO is also discussed in an investigative report released Tuesday.

The Biden administration's Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity Task Force is working to eliminate race-based bias in the assessment of home values.

By offering financial education through local crisis centers and community groups — and following through with access to credit — many credit unions are building trust with people who had been wary of working with mainstream institutions.

Financial downturns hit lower-wealth communities first and cause them to suffer the longest.

Earlier this year, canvassers visited branches in five California counties to ask about account options. Some 37% of those who spoke Spanish were unable to talk to a banker, compared with 15% of English speakers, according to a report by the Roosevelt Institute.

Community development financial institutions that are led by people of color will receive the capital, which is being distributed through the National Alliance of Latino CDFI Executives and the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs, according to BofA.

New policies, aided by partnerships with local organizations, are helping credit unions make significant progress on DEI.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who lobbied hard for President Biden to forgive $50,000 in student loan debt per borrower, said his much smaller plan can still address racial and gender wealth inequality and help tame inflation.

Goldman Sachs Group faces a June 5 trial in a long-simmering gender-bias class action alleging the bank discriminated against thousands of women in pay and promotion.

For a government agency that prefers to move gradually, the change at the top has come fast, thanks in large part to increased pressure in the wake of a national reckoning around diversity. But it has also fallen short in some ways.

Younger and more diverse leaders may better represent the local community. But bringing new people into the board room requires persistent and targeted outreach.