Citi’s $1 Billion Action for Racial Equity Initiative Demonstrates Early Results in the Fight to Address the Racial Wealth Gap
New York – Citi and the Citi Foundation today announced initial results generated from their $1 billion in strategic initiatives to help close the racial wealth gap and increase economic mobility in the United States. Announced in September 2020, Citi’s Action for Racial Equity is a comprehensive approach to 1) providing greater access to banking and credit in communities of color, 2) increasing investment in Black-owned businesses, 3) expanding homeownership among Black Americans, and 4) advancing anti-racist practices in the financial services industry.
There is clear momentum behind this work across Citi to address the barriers that impede communities of color from building generational wealth. Among the progress detailed below, Citi has allocated over half of its $100 million commitment to Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) that are expanding banking and credit access in communities of color. Citi will invest more than $200 million—out of a $550 million three-year commitment to affordable housing—in five equity funds that will be co-managed by Black investment managers to preserve multi-family affordable rental housing in cities all across the country. Citi is collaborating with the cities of Los Angeles and San Jose to provide college savings accounts for public school students, while also working with the National Urban League to offer the Citi® Access Account Package that includes no fee savings and checking products through its network.
“Action for Racial Equity was meant to be a three-year goal, but our teams have matched the urgency these issues deserve, making incredible progress towards that goal in just over six months,” said Jane Fraser, Citi CEO. “We know that many are rightfully calling on banks and other big companies to put real action behind their commitments. Today, we’re sharing what we’ve done to date to show how Citi is committed to real change, and to be clear and transparent about how far we have to go. We are determined to do everything we can to help close the racial wealth gap in our communities and continue to do the work to become an anti-racist institution.”
“The financial inequality and other systemic problems people of color face will not go away until we confront them head on—and that’s what we’re working towards here at Citi,” Mark Mason, Citi CFO, said. “Citi is focused on ensuring that people of color have the same access to the financial tools and resources that benefit other groups. Doing so is a critical component of the work that needs to be done to close the racial wealth gap.”
“Equity investments are critical to our community impact but Citi is much more than an investor in Optus. Citi is helping us grow our mission of building wealth, especially among Black-owned businesses by creating new opportunities to grow our revenue and increase our impact in the community,” said Dominik Mjartan, President & Chief Executive Officer, Optus Bank.
“Children have unlimited potential, and the last thing that should hold them back is the future cost of education,” said Nuny Martinez, Los Angeles City Council President (Council District 6). “I’m proud that the City of Los Angeles has partnered with Citi, LA County and the LA Unified School District to create Opportunity LA- Investing in LA's Children to give every child in Los Angeles the critical building block for economic success and through this, helping to close racial wealth gaps...