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Testimony:
Before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on
Financial Services, House of Representatives:
United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
For Release on Delivery Expected at 2:00 p.m. EDT:
Wednesday, July 12, 2006:
Financial Services Industry:
Overall Trends in Management-Level Diversity and Diversity Initiatives,
1993-2004:
Statement of Orice M. Williams, Director Financial Markets and
Community Investment:
GAO-06-843T:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-06-843T, a testimony before the Subcommittee on
Oversight and investigations, Committee on Financial Services, House of
Representatives.
Why GAO Did This Study:
A July 2004 congressional hearing raised concerns about the lack of
diversity in the financial services industry, particularly in key
management positions. Some witnesses noted that these firms (e.g.,
banks and securities firms) had not made sufficient progress in
recruiting minorities and women at the management level. Others raised
concerns about the ability of minority-owned businesses to raise debt
and equity capital.
At the request of the House Financial Services Committee, GAO was asked
to provide a report on overall trends in management-level diversity and
diversity initiatives from 1993 through 2004. This testimony discusses
that report and focuses on (1) what the available data show about
diversity at the management level, (2) the types of initiatives that
the financial services industry has taken to promote workforce
diversity and the challenges involved, and (3) the ability of minority-
and women-owned businesses to obtain capital and initiatives financial
institutions have taken to make capital available to these businesses.
For our analysis, we analyzed data from the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC); reviewed select studies; and interviewed
officials from financial services firms, trade organizations, and
federal agencies.
GAO makes no recommendations at this time.
What GAO Found:
From 1993 through 2004, overall diversity at the management level in
the financial services industry did not change substantially, but some
racial/ethnic minority groups experienced more change in representation
than others. EEOC data show that management-level representation by
minority women and men overall increased from 11.1 percent to 15.5
percent (see fig. below). Specifically, African-Americans increased
their representation from 5.6 percent to 6.6 percent, Asians from 2.5
percent to 4.5 percent, Hispanics from 2.8 percent to 4.0 percent, and
American Indians from 0.2 percent to 0.3 percent.
Financial services firms and trade groups have initiated programs to
increase workforce diversity, but these initiatives face challenges.
The programs include developing scholarships and internships,
partnering with groups that represent minority professionals, and
linking managers’ compensation with their performance in promoting a
diverse workforce. Some firms have developed indicators to measure
progress in achieving workforce diversity. Industry officials said that
among the challenges these initiatives face are recruiting and
retaining minority candidates, as well as gaining the “buy-in” of key
employees, such as the middle managers who are often responsible for
implementing such programs.
Research reports suggest that minority- and women-owned businesses have
difficulty obtaining access to capital for several reasons, such as
that these businesses may be concentrated in service industries and
lack assets to pledge as collateral. Some studies suggest that lenders
may discriminate, but proving such an allegation is complicated by the
lack of available data. However, some financial institutions, primarily
commercial banks, said that they have developed strategies to serve
minority- and women-owned businesses. These strategies include
marketing existing financial products specifically to minority and
women business owners.
Figure: Workforce Representation in the Financial Services Industry at
the Management Level by Racial/Ethnic Group and Gender (1993, 1998,
2000, and 2004):
[See PDF for Image]
Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data.
[End of Figure]
[Hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-843T].
To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click
the link above. For more information, contact Orice M. Williams at
(202) 512-5837 or williamso@gao.gov.
[End of Section]
Madam Chairwoman and Members of the Subcommittee:
I am pleased to be here today to discuss our work on two important
issues: workforce diversity in the financial services industry and
access to capital for minority-and women-owned businesses. Two years
ago, this subcommittee held a hearing that raised concerns about the
lack of diversity in the financial services industry, particularly in
key management positions.[Footnote 1] As you may recall, some witnesses
noted that these firms--banks and securities firms, for example--had
not made sufficient progress in recruiting minorities and women at the
management level. Others expressed concerns about the ability of
minority-owned businesses to raise debt and equity capital.
My remarks are based on our report that is being released today, which
we prepared at the request of the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member
of the full committee, the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and Representative David
Scott.[Footnote 2] Specifically, I will discuss (1) what the available
data show about diversity at the management level in the financial
services industry from 1993 through 2004, (2) the types of initiatives
that the financial services industry and related organizations have
taken to promote workforce diversity and the challenges involved, and
(3) the ability of minority-and women-owned businesses to obtain
capital and initiatives financial institutions have taken to make
capital available to these businesses.[Footnote 3]
For our analysis, we used the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's
(EEOC) Employer Information Report (EEO-1) data on financial services
firms with 100 or more employees.[Footnote 4] We also reviewed publicly
available information, including reports, and interviewed officials
from a variety of financial services firms, including commercial banks,
securities firms, and private equity/venture capital organizations, as
well as representatives from industry trade organizations and federal
agencies.
In summary:
From 1993 through 2004, overall workforce diversity at the management
level in the financial services industry did not change substantially,
but some racial/ethnic minority groups experienced more change in
representation than others.[Footnote 5] EEO-1 data show that management-
level representation by minority women and men overall increased from
11.1 percent to 15.5 percent. Specifically, African- Americans
increased their representation from 5.6 percent to 6.6 percent, Asians
from 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent, Hispanics from 2.8 percent to 4.0
percent, and American Indians from 0.2 percent to 0.3 percent.
Representation by white women remained constant at slightly more than
one-third during this period, while representation by white men
declined from 52.2 percent to 47.2 percent. Depository institutions,
such as commercial banks, and insurance companies generally were more
diverse at the management level than securities firms. In addition,
according to the 2004 EEO-1 data, minorities held 13.5 percent and
white women held 32.4 percent of all "officials and managers" positions
in the accounting industry.
Although financial services firms and trade groups have initiated
programs to increase workforce diversity, these initiatives face
challenges that may help explain why overall diversity at the
management level has not changed substantially. Officials at financial
services firms said that diversity was an important goal and that top
leadership was committed to recruiting and retaining minority and women
candidates. Some financial services firms have established scholarship
and internship programs or partnered with groups that represent
minority professionals. Officials from a few firms told us that they
had begun linking managers' compensation to their performance in
promoting workforce diversity, and some firms had developed indicators
(e.g. representation by minorities and women in key positions) to
measure progress in achieving workforce diversity. Industry officials
said that among the challenges these initiatives face are recruiting
and retaining minority candidates, as well as gaining the "buy-in" of
key employees, such as the middle managers who are often responsible
for implementing such programs.
Research reports and discussions with financial services firms and
relevant trade groups suggest that minority-and women-owned businesses
generally have difficulty obtaining access to capital in conventional
financial markets. A 2004 report by the U.S. Department of Commerce's
Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) stated that minority-owned
businesses may have difficulty obtaining capital because they are often
concentrated in service industries and lack sufficient assets to pledge
as collateral.[Footnote 6] Some studies suggest that lenders may
discriminate in deciding whether to make loans to minority businesses,
but proving such an allegation is complicated by the lack of available
data. In particular, the Federal Reserve's Regulation B prohibits
financial institutions from requiring information on race and gender
from applicants for nonmortage credit products.[Footnote 7] Some
federal financial regulators have stated that removing the prohibition
would allow them to better monitor and enforce laws prohibiting
discrimination in lending. Some financial institutions, primarily
commercial banks, said that they have developed strategies to serve
minority-and women-owned businesses. These strategies include marketing
existing financial products specifically to minority and women business
owners.
Background:
We defined the financial services industry to include the following
sectors:
* depository credit institutions, which include commercial banks,
thrifts (savings and loan associations and savings banks), and credit
unions;
* holdings and trusts, which include investment trusts, investment
companies, and holding companies;
* nondepository credit institutions, which extend credit in the form of
loans, include federally sponsored credit agencies, personal credit
institutions, and mortgage bankers and brokers;
* the securities sector, which is made up of a variety of firms and
organizations (e.g., broker-dealers) that bring together buyers and
sellers of securities and commodities, manage investments, and offer
financial advice; and:
* the insurance sector, including carriers and insurance agents, which
provides protection against financial risks to policyholders in
exchange for the payment of premiums.
Additionally, the financial services industry is a major source of
employment in the United States. According to the EEO-1 data, the
financial services firms we reviewed for this testimony, which have 100
or more staff, employed nearly 3 million people in 2004. Moreover,
according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in
management and professional positions in the financial services
industry was expected to grow at a rate of 1.2 percent annually through
2012. Finally, a recent U.S. Census Bureau report based on data from
the 2002 Economic Census stated that, between 1997 and 2002, Hispanics
in the United States opened new businesses at a rate three times faster
than the national average.[Footnote 8]
Diversity in the Financial Services Industry at the Management Level
Did Not Change Substantially between 1993 and 2004:
Overall EEO-1 data do not show substantial changes in diversity at the
management level and suggest that certain financial sectors are more
diverse at this level than others. Figure 1 shows that overall
management-level representation by minorities increased from 11.1
percent to 15.5 percent from 1993 through 2004. Specifically, African-
Americans increased their representation from 5.6 percent to 6.6
percent, Asians from 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent, Hispanics from 2.8
percent to 4.0 percent and American Indians from 0.2 to 0.3 percent.
Management-level representation by white women was largely unchanged at
slightly more than one-third during the period, while representation by
white men declined from 52.2 percent to 47.2 percent.
EEO-1 data may actually overstate representation levels for minorities
and white women in the most senior-level positions, such as Chief
Executive Officers of large investment firms or commercial banks,
because the category that captures these positions--"officials and
managers"--covers all management positions. Thus, this category
includes lower level positions (e.g., assistant manager of a small bank
branch) that may have a higher representation of minorities and women.
In 2007, EEOC plans to use a revised form for employers that divides
this category into "executive/senior-level officers and managers" and
"first/mid-level officials," which could provide a more accurate
picture of diversity among senior managers.
Figure 1: EEO-1 Data on Trends in Workforce Diversity in the Financial
Services Industry at the Management Level by Racial/Ethnic Group and
Gender (1993, 1998, 2000, and 2004):
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data.
Note: Percentages may not always add to 100 due to rounding.
[End of figure]
As shown in figure 2, EEO-1 data also show that the depository and
nondepository credit sectors, as well as the insurance sector, were
somewhat more diverse at the management level than the securities and
holdings and trust sectors. In 2004, minorities held 19.9 percent of
management-level positions in nondepository credit institutions, such
as mortgage bankers and brokers, but 12.4 percent in holdings and
trusts, such as investment companies.
Figure 2: EEO-1 Data on Workforce Diversity in the Financial Services
Industry at the Management Level by Sector (2004):
[See PDF for Image]
Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data.
Note: Percentages may not always add to 100 due to rounding.
[End of Figure]
You also asked that we collect data on the accounting industry.
According to the 2004 EEO-1 data, minorities held 13.5 percent, and
white women held 32.4 percent of all "officials and managers" positions
in the accounting industry.
Initiatives to Promote Workforce Diversity in the Financial Services
Industry Face Challenges:
Minorities' rapid growth as a percentage of the overall U.S. population
and increased global competition have convinced some financial services
firms that workforce diversity is a critical business strategy.
Officials from the firms with whom we spoke said that their top
leadership was committed to implementing workforce diversity
initiatives, but noted that they faced challenges in making such
initiatives work. In particular, they cited ongoing difficulties in
recruiting and retaining minority candidates and in gaining employees'
"buy-in" for diversity initiatives, especially at the middle management
level.
Financial Services Firms Have Implemented a Variety of Diversity
Initiatives:
Since the mid-1990s, some financial services firms have implemented a
variety of initiatives designed to recruit and retain minority and
women candidates to fill key positions. Officials from several banks
said that they had developed scholarship and internship programs to
encourage minority students to consider careers in banking. Some firms
and trade organizations have also developed partnerships with groups
that represent minority professionals and with local communities to
recruit candidates through events such as conferences and career fairs.
To help retain minorities and women, firms have established employee
networks, mentoring programs, diversity training, and leadership and
career development programs.
Officials from some financial services firms we contacted, as well as
industry studies, noted that that financial services firms' senior
managers were involved in diversity initiatives. For example, according
to an official from an investment bank, the head of the firm meets with
every minority and female senior executive to discuss his or her career
development. Officials from a few commercial banks said that the banks
had established diversity "councils" of senior leaders to set the
vision, strategy, and direction of diversity initiatives. A 2005
industry trade group study and some officials also noted that some
companies were linking managers' compensation with their progress in
hiring, promoting, and retaining minority and women employees.[Footnote
9]
A few firms have also developed performance indicators to measure
progress in achieving diversity goals. These indicators include
workforce representation, turnover, promotion of minority and women
employees, and employee satisfaction survey responses. Officials from
several financial services firms stated that measuring the results of
diversity efforts over time was critical to the credibility of the
initiatives and to justifying the investment in the resources such
initiatives demanded.
Several Challenges May Have Affected the Success of Workforce Diversity
Initiatives in the Financial Services Industry:
The financial services firms and trade organizations we contacted that
had launched diversity initiatives cited a variety of challenges that
may have limited the success of their efforts. First, officials said
that the industry faced ongoing challenges in recruiting minority and
women candidates. According to industry officials, the industry lacks a
critical mass of minority employees, especially at the senior levels,
to serve as role models to attract and retain other minorities.
Available data on minority students enrolled in Master of Business
Administration (MBA) programs suggest that the pool of minorities, a
source that may feed the "pipeline" for management-level positions
within the financial services industry and other industries, is
relatively small.[Footnote 10] In 2000, minorities accounted for 19
percent of all students enrolled in MBA programs in accredited U.S.
schools; in 2004, that student population had risen to 23 percent.
Financial services firms compete for this relatively small pool not
only with one another but also with firms from other industries.
Evidence suggests, however, that the financial services industry may
not be fully leveraging its "internal" pipeline of minority and women
employees for management-level positions. As shown in figure 3, there
are job categories within the financial services industry that
generally have more overall workforce diversity than the "official and
managers" category, particularly among minorities. For example,
minorities held 22 percent of "professional" positions in the industry
in 2004 as compared with 15 percent of "officials and managers"
positions. According to a recent EEOC report, the professional category
represented a possible pipeline of available management-level
candidates.[Footnote 11] The EEOC states that the chances of minorities
and women (white and minority combined) advancing from the professional
category into management-level positions is lower when compared with
white males.
Figure 3: EEO-1 Data (Percentage) on Workforce Diversity in the
Financial Services Industry by Position, Gender, and Racial/Ethnic
Group (2004):
{See PDF for Image]
Source: GAO analysis of EEOC data.
Note: Percentages may not always add to 100 due to rounding.
[End of Figure]
Many officials from financial services firms and industry trade groups
agreed that retaining minority and women employees represented one of
the biggest challenges to promoting workforce diversity. One reason
they cited is that the industry, as described previously, lacks a
critical mass of minority men and women, particularly in senior-level
positions, to serve as role models. Without a critical mass, the
officials said that minority or women employees may lack the personal
connections and access to informal networks that are often necessary to
navigate an organization's culture and advance their careers. For
example, an official from a commercial bank we contacted said he
learned from staff interviews that African-Americans believed that they
were not considered for promotion as often as others partly because
they were excluded from informal employee networks needed for promotion
or to promote advancement.
In addition, some industry officials said that achieving "buy-in" from
key employees such as middle managers could be challenging. Middle
managers are particularly important to diversify institutions because
they are often responsible for implementing key aspects of diversity
initiatives and for explaining them to other employees. However, the
officials said that middle managers may be focused on other aspects of
their responsibilities, such as meeting financial performance targets,
rather than the importance of implementing the organization's diversity
initiatives. Additionally, the officials said that implementing
diversity initiatives represents a considerable cultural and
organizational change for many middle managers and employees at all
levels. An official from an investment bank told us that the bank has
been reaching out to middle managers who oversee minority and women
employees by, for example, instituting an "inclusive manager program."
Minority-and Women-Owned Businesses Often Face Difficulties in
Obtaining Capital:
Studies and reports, as well as interviews we conducted, suggest that
minority-and women-owned businesses face challenges obtaining bank
credit in conventional financial markets for several reasons, including
business characteristics (e.g., small firm size) and the possibility
that lenders may discriminate. Some business characteristics may also
limit the ability of minority-and women-owned businesses to raise
equity capital.[Footnote 12] However, some financial institutions,
primarily commercial banks, have recently begun marketing their loan
products and offering technical assistance to minority-and women-owned
businesses.
Business Characteristics May Affect Minority-and Women-Owned
Businesses' Access to Commercial Loans and Equity Capital:
Reports and other research, as well as interviews we conducted with
commercial banks, including minority-owned banks and trade groups
representing minority-and women-owned businesses, highlight some of the
challenges these businesses may face in obtaining commercial bank
credit. For example, many minority-owned businesses are in the retail
and service sectors and may have few assets to offer as
collateral.[Footnote 13] Further, many of these businesses are
relatively young and may not have an established credit
history.[Footnote 14] Many also are relatively small and often lack
technical expertise.[Footnote 15]
On the other hand, some studies suggest that lenders may discriminate
against minority-owned businesses. We reviewed one study that found
given comparable loan applications--by African-American and Hispanic-
owned firms and white-owned firms--the applications by the African-
American and Hispanic-owned firms were more likely to be
denied.[Footnote 16] However, assessing such alleged discrimination may
be complicated by limitations in data availability. The Federal
Reserve's Regulation B, which implements the Equal Credit Opportunity
Act, prohibits financial institutions from requiring information on
race and gender from applicants for nonmortgage credit
products.[Footnote 17] Although the regulation was initially
implemented to prevent such information from being used to discriminate
against certain groups, some federal financial regulators have stated
that removing the prohibition would allow them to better monitor and
enforce laws prohibiting discrimination in lending. Likewise, at least
one bank official noted that Regulation B limited the bank's ability to
measure the success of its efforts to provide financial services to
minority groups. We note that under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
(HMDA), lenders are required to collect and report data on racial and
gender characteristics of applicants for mortgage loans. Researchers
have used the HMDA data to assess potential mortgage lending
discrimination by financial institutions.
Research also suggests that some business characteristics (e.g.,
limited technical expertise) that may affect the ability of many
minority-and women-owned businesses to obtain bank credit, as discussed
earlier, may also limit their capacity to raise equity
capital.[Footnote 18] Although venture capital firms may not have
traditionally invested in minority-owned businesses, a recent study
suggests that firms that do focus on such entities can earn rates of
return comparable to those earned on mainstream private equity
investments.[Footnote 19]
Some Commercial Banks Have Developed Programs for Minority-and Women-
Owned Businesses:
Officials from some financial institutions we contacted, primarily
large commercial banks, told us that they are reaching out to minority-
and women-owned businesses by marketing their financial products to
them (including in different languages), establishing partnerships with
relevant trade and community organizations, and providing technical
assistance. For example, officials from some banks said that they
educate potential business clients by providing technical assistance
through financial workshops and seminars on various issues, such as
developing a business plans and obtaining commercial bank loans. While
these efforts take time and resources, the officials we spoke with
indicated that their institutions recognize the benefits of tapping
this growing segment of the market.
Madam Chairwoman, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be
pleased to respond to any questions you or other Members of the
Subcommittee may have.
Staff Contact and Acknowledgments:
For further information about this testimony, please contact Orice M.
Williams on (202) 512-8678 or at williamso@gao.gov. Contact points for
our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found
on the last page of this statement. Individuals making key
contributions to this testimony include Wesley M. Phillips, Assistant
Director; Emily Chalmers; William Chatlos; Kimberly Cutright; Simin Ho;
Marc Molino; Robert Pollard; LaSonya Roberts; and Bethany Widick.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Diversity in the Financial Services Industry and Access to Capital
for Minority Owned Businesses: Challenges and Opportunities, Hearing
Before the Subcommittee On Oversight and Investigations of the House
Committee on Financial Services, 108th Cong. (2004).
[2] GAO, Financial Services Industry: Overall Trends in Management-
Level Diversity and Diversity Initiatives, 1993-2004, GAO-06-617
(Washington, D.C.: June 1, 2006).
[3] A minority-owned business is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as a
business in which a minority owns 51 percent or more of the stock or
equity in the business. A woman-owned business is defined by Census as
a business in which a woman owns 51 percent or more of the stock or
equity in the business.
[4] We used the EEO-1 "officials and managers" job category as the
basis for our discussion of management-level diversity within the
financial services industry. EEOC defines the job category of
"officials and managers" as occupations requiring administrative and
managerial personnel, who set broad policies, exercise overall
responsibility for execution of these policies, and direct individual
departments or special phases of a firm's operation.
[5] For the purposes of this testimony, we focused the diversity
discussion on changes in management-level representation over time by
racial/ethnic minority groups, including African-Americans, Asians,
Hispanics, and American Indians.
[6] U.S. Department of Commerce, MBDA, "Expanding Financing
Opportunities for Minority Businesses" (2004).
[7] The Federal Reserve's Regulation B implements the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act (ECOA). ECOA, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1691-1691f, makes it
unlawful for a creditor to discriminate against an applicant in any
aspect of a credit transaction on the basis of the applicant's national
origin, religion, sex, color, race, age (provided the applicant has the
capacity to contract). Racial and gender information can be collected
in two very limited circumstances, neither of which results in publicly
available data regarding the race/ethnicity or gender of the bank's
nonmortgage credit applicants.
[8] U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Business Owners: Hispanic-Owned
Firms: 2002 (March 2006).
[9] Securities Industry Association, 2005 Report on Diversity Strategy,
Development and Demographics: Executive Summary (November 2005).
[10] Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
[11] See EEOC, Diversity in the Finance Industry (April 2006).
[12] Equity capital can be raised from several sources including
venture capital funds, private stock sales, or issuing stock in public
financial markets.
[13] U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency,
Expanding Financing Opportunities for Minority Businesses (2004). U.S.
Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency, Keys to
Minority Entrepreneurial Success, Capital, Education, and Technology
(September 2002). U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business
Development Agency, State of Minority Business Enterprises: A
Preliminary Overview of the 2002 Survey of Business Owners (September
2005).
[14] U.S. Census Bureau, "2002 Survey of Business Owners, Women-Owned
Firms" (Jan. 26, 2006).
[15] U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency,
Keys to Minority Entrepreneurial Success, Capital, Education, and
Technology (September 2002). U.S. Small Business Administration, Office
of Advocacy, Financing Patterns of Small Firms: Findings from the 1998
Survey of Small Business Finance (September 2003). All small businesses
may face challenges in obtaining credit due to the risks and costs
involved in such lending. See Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, Report to the Congress on the Availability of Credit to Small
Businesses (September 2002).
[16] Blanchard, Lloyd, John Yinger, and Bo Zhao (2005), "Do Credit
Market Barriers Exist for Minority and Women Entrepreneurs?" Syracuse
University, Center for Policy Research Working Paper No. 74.
[17] The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1691-1691f.
[18] Center for Women's Business Research, Access to Capital: Where
We've Been, Where We're Going (March 2005). Brush, C. G; Carter, N;
Gatewood, E; Greene P. G; and Hart, M. M. Gatekeepers of Venture
Growth: A Diana Project Report on the Role and Participation of Women
in the Venture Capital Industry (Oct. 20, 2001).
[19] Bates, Timothy and William Bradford (2003). "Minorities and
Venture Capital, A New Wave in American Business." Kauffman Foundation.
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