Diversity and equality

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a major element of the IRA, provides a critical opportunity for banks to integrate green finance into their core strategies.

Systemic racial inequality has long been a drag on the U.S. economy, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the housing market. There are smart strategies that would even the playing field.

Government, private companies and civil society must continue pushing the kinds of partnerships that put mobile financial technology into the hands of marginalized people around the world.

The consumer neobank, made by and for Native Americans, understood its target audience deeply and had a plan in place to earn revenue beyond interchange fees. Its struggles to get off the ground reflect other challenges — and lessons — for neobanks where a good idea is only the starting point.

In the U.S. and around the world, women still face many barriers to financial inclusion, and workplace practices that make it more challenging for them to build wealth. It doesn't have to be that way.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans leave prison each year with little or no financial literacy. It's in the interest of banks and the communities they serve to educate them.

CEO Dominik Mjartan is stepping down after Optus Bank increased its assets more than 1,000% over seven years.

A female employee is now suing ICAP and Citigroup, alleging she was subjected to years of unwanted sexual attention and threats by a Citi trader.

The lender denied its software uses artificial intelligence in fighting a 'digital redlining' case.

Fostering financial well-being among the country's fastest-growing demographic group is essential to the future of the American economy. And, not incidentally, it's also good for business.

A federal appeals court ruled that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits not just outright discrimination but also the discouragement of prospective applicants for credit.

By adopting more inclusive lending practices and actively seeking to support minority-owned businesses, banks can help bridge the financing gap that often stifles the growth of these businesses.

All cultures have explicit and implicit biases. Preventing discrimination when large language models are involved starts with using high-quality human-curated data and text.

AI tools, such as large language models, offer the promise of increased efficiency; but they also carry with them potential legal and regulatory risks. Financial service providers will need to find a way to strike the right balance as technological advancements continue to emerge.

IntraFi has joined two banking industry trade groups spearheading an effort to source large institutional deposits at small, cash-starved CDFI and MDI banks.

The company's shareholders are ill-served by its large investments in fossil fuel projects that both damage the environment and present major financial risks.

The Boston-based custody bank will place deposits at Carver State Bank, Citizens Trust Bank and Ponce Bank as part of its broader effort to help reduce the wealth gap. State Street plans to place a total of $100 million of deposits at minority depository institutions this year.

In recent years, the wealth gulf between white and Black families has only grown. But there is hope that advances in fintech, such as wider adoption of artificial intelligence, can help.

In this month's roundup of top banking news: a Supreme Court ruling on CFPB funding, TD Bank's money laundering woes, an FDIC workplace probe reveals a culture of misconduct and more.

A set of panels discussing minority depository institutions and digitization found that cost is a significant challenge to minority depository institutions, especially in the core processing space.