CFPB reports on diversity and inclusion in financial services industry

Federal Issues CFPB Diversity

On January 19, the CFPB’s Office of Minority Women and Inclusion (OMWI) released a report on diversity and inclusion in the financial services industry. The report, among other things, summarized the results of the Bureau’s research in 2020 to further understand how companies under the Bureau’s jurisdiction publicly show their commitment to diversity. According to the report, the sample showed an “extremely mixed picture of progress in the financial services sector on public diversity and inclusion information: 44% of the sample (119 entities) had no public information about diversity and inclusion efforts on their website or in annual reports. In contrast, 22% of entities sampled (60) had high information availability on their websites or public documents.” The report found that few organizations outside of depository lenders had either a dedicated diversity and inclusion executive or a formal body that directed diversity and inclusion efforts, and instead, centered their diversity and inclusion efforts within the human resources office, or opted to not publicize that information. The report also outlined recommendations for financial services companies of different sizes to improve the diversity and inclusion information that is available to the public, including that small companies with little to no information about diversity and inclusion should add a public value statement on their website. For large companies, the report recommended employing a chief diversity officer, expanding their workforce demographic data, and publicizing their professional development resources. The report also emphasized that executing an organizational commitment to diversity and inclusion is important for institutions to remain competitive. In continuing with its diversity-focused research, the Bureau plans to continue its diversity-focused industry research and will “track the progress of researched entities annually.”