CUs committed to DEI, concerned with ‘one-size-fits-all’ proposals
The credit union system has a shared commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion, but has concerns about proposals that would require employment diversity data from all institutions regardless of size, CUNA wrote to the House Financial Services Subcommittee on diversity and inclusion Wednesday. The subcommittee conducted a hearing discussing diversity and inclusion (DEI) accountability at large banks.
The House Financial Services Committee also released a report in conjunction with the hearing that evaluates bank and savings and loans holding companies with more than $50 billion in assets. However, CUNA is concerned that the legislative recommendations and proposed bills stemming from the report would apply to all financial institutions regardless of their size.
“While the Committee has fashioned its data reporting, public disclosure, and board diversity requirements based on an assessment of the practices and resources of institutions with $50 billion or more in assets, credit unions have an average of $286 million in assets by comparison,” the letter reads. “Currently, the median number of assets under a credit union’s management is $35 million. Thus, credit unions have significantly less resources to accomplish diversity and inclusion initiatives than large banks and, accordingly, should not be judged using identical assessment criteria or subjected to identical obligations.”
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