Diversity and equality

The moves are part of a $30 billion pledge to advance racial equity that the megabank made following George Floyd's murder last year.

The proposal calls for a 20-year mortgage with Ginnie Mae and Treasury participation, but critics suggest that other measures would be more effective in bridging the gap in home equity.

Sandra Thompson, who has been acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency since June, has won backing from the mortgage industry and community groups for the experience she brings to the role. The push comes as the administration is said to be considering Mike Calhoun of the Center for Responsible Lending.

The chair of the House Financial Services Committee endorsed acting Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Sandra Thompson as rumors abound that the administration is considering someone else for the job.

The agency organized a vehicle seeded with $120 million from anchor investors — including Truist and Microsoft — enabling minority-owned banks and community development financial institutions to seek capital for development projects in underserved areas.

The Chicago City Council approved a measure to boost transparency around the lending practices of the city’s banks and help address homeownership disparities in the nation’s third most-populous city.

In a recent securitization with Capital One, RBC Capital Markets gave a bigger role to small firms owned by minorities and women. It’s one example of how banks are striving to be more inclusive.

Some are taking extra measures, such as forming panels with minority representation to interview job candidates, to ensure that their recruitment practices don't exclude underrepresented groups.

An opponent of affirmative action is challenging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of a rule to get more women and minorities on the boards of companies trading on Nasdaq.

The new standards give some 300 listed banks up to five years to meet targets for including women and minorities on their boards, or explain why they aren't doing so. State officials and investors had already pushed banks about the need to rethink their approaches to recruiting directors.

In late July, the Justice Department notified the Houston bank of a potential lawsuit alleging violations between 2013 and 2017, according to a securities filing. Cadence said that its prospective merger partner, BancorpSouth, supports the settlement discussions.

The state's department of financial services is asking firms that it supervises to report information about the composition of their boards and senior leadership. It expects to publish aggregate findings in early 2022.

Okeatta Brown is leaving Wells Fargo to fill a new role that will cover the Japanese company's footprint across the Americas.

A bevy of Citigroup bankers and traders are vying to join a new program that would allow them to spend time working at a Black-owned bank.

The organizations that received charters this year emphasize digital access and remote work, and aim to address the economic disparities highlighted by the pandemic and the nationwide wave of racial justice protests.

Bliss, which is part of a suite of apps under development by the mobile technology company Euphoria.LGBT, is working with Jiko to offer a tailored savings account for transgender individuals preparing for their transition.

The 2013 rule, which was weakened under the Trump administration, established a comparatively low bar for plaintiffs alleging discrimination.

The House has passed legislation that would make financial institutions report credit application data relating to LGBTQ-owned businesses to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for the purposes of enforcing fair lending laws.

How the pandemic is accelerating trends in financial advice and changing the way Americans manage their money.