Diversity and equality

When credit union leaders are open to feedback from members and employees of many backgrounds, they can strengthen workplace morale and attract new customers, inclusion advocates say.

New York City's new pay-transparency law has a blind spot: Wall Street bonuses.

FDIC data shows an uptick in the number of Americans with access to basic banking services. That momentum has to continue.

Kristy Fercho, who's run the bank's home lending division since August 2020, will report directly to CEO Charlie Scharf and sit on the operating committee. Last year, she became the first Black person to chair the Mortgage Bankers Association, and she took the top spot in American Banker's Most Powerful Women to Watch this year.

During a panel discussion at American Banker's Most Powerful Women in Banking conference, three executives spoke about how mentors helped shape their own careers, and how they continue to provide a pipeline for future generations of senior leaders.

Exclusive Arizent research found that more than 95% of employees think they have something to learn from people who are different from them. But only 66% think that diverse companies make better decisions. We explore the disconnect.

Student loans haven't delivered their promise of a middle-class life for millions of Americans, and the U.S. system of financing higher education via individual borrowing is making inequalities in the country worse, according to a new study.

Becoming a director can be an important stepping stone for a banker's career. Here's how to get invited — and convince your company to let you accept a board offer.

BNP Paribas was told by French judges it shouldn't have excluded bonuses from its calculations to close the gender pay gap, in a ruling that's likely to have ramifications for the local banking industry.

At American Banker's Small Biz Banking conference, bankers said they are throwing community events, working with local nonprofits and trying to turn lending decisions from "no" to "yes."

Sexual assaults, lurid propositions and a sex tape pack the latest filings in a class action against Goldman Sachs. But it's a boss's comment about his assistant's engagement ring two decades ago and a woman who complained an executive checked her out that have set off an especially bitter dispute in the case.

The industry is largely missing out on a huge segment of the market for financial services.

The trade groups, including the American Bankers Association, allege the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau exceeded its authority by claiming discrimination in any financial product violates the federal prohibition on "unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices."

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.