Waters and Beatty Continue Push for Diversity Data from Big Banks

Press Release

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.

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