Racial Equity Audit

In light of the protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd in June 2020, the CtW Investment Group has requested systemically important financial institutions to conduct a racial equity audit that identifies, prioritizes, and remedies the adverse impacts of the bank’s policies and practices on non-white stakeholders and communities of color.  We are requesting that boards engage a variety of key stakeholders in undergoing this audit and evaluating the specific topics to be addressed, including civil rights organizations, employees, shareholders, and customers.

We believe that the finance industry has played a critical role in perpetuating unequal wealth distribution to communities of color.  Whether it be modern day “redlining” techniques related to mortgage loans, to excessive checking account fees, to most recently, Payday Protection Program distribution, communities of color have faced decades of discrimination as a result of the financial industry’s policies and practices.  Major banks within the financial industry have all made recent commitments supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. While we are encouraged by these statements, monetary pledges and verbal commitments alone are not sufficient to address the systemic racial disparities within our financial system.  We believe that the only way to effectively address racial injustice and economic inequality is careful study of how the industry’s products and services have contributed to this imbalance.

In connection with this initiative we are working with the SEIU to file shareholder proposals at the following banks for the 2021 proxy season.  You can find more information on our efforts at each bank below.

• Bank of America

• Wells Fargo

• Citi

• Goldman Sachs

• Morgan Stanley

• JP Morgan

• State Street

• BlackRock