An industry founded to provide affordable financial services to those of modest means needs to do a much better job of recruiting Black, Latino and other minorities to the workforce and the member base.
The ongoing national conversation about race and social justice has increased calls for boards of directors that better reflect credit union membership. But any really change won't happen quickly.
The product — a special class of shares in JPMorgan's Empower money market fund — will initially be distributed by the Harbor Bank of Maryland, Liberty Bank & Trust, M&F Bank and Unity National Bank, according to a statement.
The Madison, Wis.-based credit union will donate $1.5 million to a pair of United Way chapters in the region which will help distribute the funds to organizations serving communities of color.
Aside from the cash infusions, the San Francisco-based bank will assign dedicated teams to provide the lenders with financial, technology and product expertise.
Free financial education programs and easier access to safe small-dollar loans are among the ways banks could help put low-income minority households on a path to prosperity.
Startups such as Majority, Sable and Simba were created by newcomers to the U.S. who learned firsthand which services, including global remittances and financial education, their audience values most.
After the agency pulled back on fair-lending enforcement in the Trump administration, interim Director Dave Uejio has made clear his intent to use the “disparate impact” standard to launch more anti-discrimination probes.
