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Apr 22, 2021 - Economy

Black Americans underrepresented in senior management at giant banks

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Black representation among senior bankers
Data: Bank diversity reports/Axios research; Chart: Will Chase/Axios. Note: Full breakdowns couldn't be obtained for JPM and Wells.

White Americans are three times more likely than Black Americans to have a prime credit score. They're also disproportionately likely to end up in senior management at a giant bank.

By the numbers: "In our survey, just 19% of Black respondents and 42% of Latinx respondents indicated a prime credit score, compared with 60% of white respondents," Financial Health Network said in its FinHealth Spend Report 2021.

The big picture: At Wells Fargo, 87.3% of senior management is white, and only 2.8% is Black. At Morgan Stanley, 83.2% is white, while just 2.2% is Black.

  • If those numbers were in line with the U.S. population as a whole, then 76.3% would be white and fully 13.4% would be Black.
  • "We understand that we have more to do to fully reflect society," says Jeff Brodsky, Morgan Stanley's chief human resources officer.
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