Diversity and equality

Square is moving to help minority and underserved groups by investing $100 million in nonprofit financial institutions and Black-owned businesses.

The percentage of institutions in the Best Credit Unions to Work For rankings that provide formalized diversity training continues to rise each year, reflecting a growing awareness of the issue within the industry.

The company has been experimenting with ways to recruit more women and minorities, including a program to hire professionals who had left banking. But CEO Charlie Scharf’s reference to “a very limited pool of Black talent” for important jobs may make it harder for Wells to meet inclusion goals.

The fund will support Community Development Financial Institutions that lend to minority- and women-owned businesses. The Charlotte, N.C., company is the latest big bank to make a large dollar commitment focused on alleviating racial and economic inequality.

Under fire for saying that the potential pool of talent is "limited," CEO Charlie Scharf issued a memo to employees Wednesday acknowledging that his words reflected his own "unconscious bias" and vowing to improve diversity in the bank's leadership.

Citigroup will spend $1 billion over the next three years on efforts to help close the racial wealth gap as it seeks to become an “antiracist institution.”

Wells Fargo's top executive created a firestorm on social media over comments that the bank has had trouble meeting its diversity goals because there isn't enough minority talent.

The future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Fed’s supervisory regime for the biggest financial institutions, reform of the Community Reinvestment Act and a host of other industry-related issues are on the ballot this November.

The final version of the amended rule, like the original proposal, makes fair-lending claims tougher to prove. But it does soften language that otherwise might have allowed mortgage companies to use algorithms to prove nondiscrimination.

In congressional testimony, the director of the credit union regulator's Office of Minority and Women Inclusion outlined steps the agency is taking to increase diversity at the agency.

Bank of America announced how it plans to spend a third of its $1 billion commitment to address racial and economic inequities and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in communities of color.

Even though financial institutions have "slightly" stepped up assessments of diversity practices, "we are not satisfied with the level of responsiveness,” a senior Federal Reserve official said in congressional testimony.

A New York CDFI is halfway to its $100 million fundraising goal for a fund that would put deposits in Black-owned banks and make loans to key businesses or projects. It hopes the moves will improve availability of capital and access to mainstream financial products.

Larry Sewell has also pledged to continue a series of industrywide conversations on race relations.

Discover is working to help Black-owned businesses and other merchants maintain foot traffic — safely — through the use of the card network's payments technology and its marketing heft.

Piedmont Federal Savings is working with historically Black colleges and universities to hire and train prospective commercial lenders and managers who better reflect the community it serves.

The move is part of the effort by lenders and other companies to promote racial equity and be more sensitive to the stresses on front-line employees. It also coincides with rising concerns about the postal system’s ability to handle the rush of absentee ballots.

The move is part of the effort by banks and other companies to promote racial equity and be more sensitive to the stresses on front-line employees.

Political donations from the sector and interviews with industry experts highlight a wide range of views on affordable housing resources, the appropriate level of regulatory relief and how policymakers should enforce fair housing rules.