Skip to Content

Press Releases

Waters and Beatty Continue Push for Diversity Data from Big Banks

Lawmakers Sent Letters to 37 Bank Holding Companies on the Heels of Diversity Data Request to Seven Largest Megabanks in May 2019

On Wednesday, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion, sent letters to 37 bank holding companies requesting their diversity and inclusion data and policies from 2015 to the present.

The letters request data on diversity and inclusion from bank holding companies with over $50 billion in assets.

“Unfortunately, a complete picture of diversity and inclusion in the financial services industry cannot be obtained until the financial services industry shares their diversity data and policies with the OMWIs, Congress, and the public,” the lawmakers wrote.

According to data presented by the Government Accountability Office at a February hearing of the Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion, the financial services industry has failed to significantly improve diversity in its management ranks. For example, from 2007 to 2015, the overall representation of women among managers at financial services firms remained generally unchanged, while the overall representation of minorities among managers marginally increased, except for African-Americans whose representation decreased from 6.5 percent to 6.3 percent.

The data request is designed to inform Congress of the diversity levels and diversity and inclusion policies and practices of the country’s biggest banks.

Chairwoman Waters and Chairwoman Beatty have long-called for financial institutions to prioritize diversity. Today’s letters are identical to a request made last month by Chairwoman Beatty for diversity and inclusion data from the seven megabank CEOs that testified at a Committee hearing in April.

By expanding the data request to all bank holding companies with over $50 billion in assets, the Committee will be able to provide the American public with a complete picture of how large banks are meeting their commitments to diversity and inclusion.

The lawmakers requested the following information about each institution’s diversity and inclusion data and policies from 2015 through the present:

  1. Demographic totals on employees, including:
    a. Total number of employees (full- and part-time)
    b. Career level of employees (executive and manager versus employees in other roles);
    c. Gender, race and ethnic identity of your employees, as otherwise known or provided voluntarily;
    d. Employee compensation by gender, race and ethnicity;
  2. Number and dollar value invested with minority- and women-owned vendors and asset managers as compared to all vendor and asset manager investments;
  3. Title(s) and reporting structure for each institution’s lead diversity officer(s);
    a. Number of staff and budget dedicated to diversity initiatives;
  4. Description of performance measures and compensation tied to diversity initiatives;
  5. Company-wide diversity policies and practices, including:
    a. Recruitment strategies;
    b. Outreach to diverse organizations, such as historically black colleges and universities and professional organizations;
    c. Gender pay equity data and efforts to close any identified gaps;
  6. Corporate board demographic data, including;
    a. Total number of board members;
    b. Gender, race and ethnic identity of board members, as otherwise known or provided voluntarily;
    c. Board position title, as well as any leadership and subcommittee assignments;
  7. Institution’s diversity policies and practices; and
  8. Any challenges the institution faces in implementing its diversity goals and initiatives.

Chairwoman Waters and Chairwoman Beatty requested information from the following institutions:

  1. Ally Financial Inc.
  2. American Express Company
  3. Bank of America Corporation
  4. Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, The
  5. Barclays US LLC
  6. BB&T Corporation
  7. BBVA Compass Bancshares, Inc.
  8. BMO Financial Corp
  9. BNP Paribas USA, Inc
  10. Capital One Financial Corporations
  11. Charles Schwab Corporation, The
  12. Citigroup Inc.
  13. Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
  14. Comerica Incorporated
  15. Credit Suisse Holdings, Inc
  16. DB USA Corporation
  17. Discover Financial Services
  18. E*TRADE Financial Corporation
  19. Fifth Third Bank Corp
  20. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, The
  21. HSBC North America Holdings Inc.
  22. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated
  23. JP Morgan Chase & Co.
  24. Keycorp
  25. M&T Bank Corporation
  26. Morgan Stanley
  27. MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation
  28. New York Community Bancorp, Inc
  29. Northern Trust Corporation
  30. PNC Financial Services Group, Inc, The
  31. RBC US Corporation
  32. Regions Financial Corporation
  33. Santander Holdings USA, Inc
  34. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
  35. State Street Corporation
  36. SunTrust Banks, Inc.
  37. SVB Financial Group
  38. Synchrony Financial
  39. TD Group US Holdings LLC.
  40. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America
  41. U.S. Bancorp
  42. UBS Americas Holding LLC
  43. United Services Automobile Association
  44. Wells Fargo & Company

###

Back to top