House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., recently released a diversity report on megabanks. The report explores diversity inside the nation’s largest banks, finding both boards and senior management mostly white and male.
The committee requested and received diversity data from State Street, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, BNY Mellon, Citi, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.
According to the data collected by the committee:
- twenty-nine percent of board members at the largest banks are female, while 17% are minorities;
- there are no female or minority CEOs at any of the megabanks;
- no chief diversity officers report directly to the CEO;
- four out of the eight megabanks spent more than $1 billion on diverse suppliers; and
- one out of 25,000 employees surveyed on average is dedicated to diversity.
The report found that megabanks have work to do to increase diversity. The report suggested banks focus on recruiting through affinity groups and at minority colleges and universities, fully close the pay equity gap for women and minorities, and increase investment in leadership and development programs for building a pipeline of diverse talent.
The report focused solely on large financial institutions, but credit unions should be aware of the findings and understand diversity is growing area of focus for lawmakers and regulators.