Recently, New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) announced new initiatve to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the banking and non-depository financial industries.
DFS, via a industry letter to New York-regulated banking institutions and New York-regulated non-depository financial institutions, emphasized its expectation that these organizations make the diversity of their boards and senior leadership a business priority and a key part of their corporate governance, including creating and maintaining a diverse pipeline of future leaders. The action follows the announcement of Similar DFS Actions in the Insurance Industry.
DFS said that the best way to support the industry’s diversity efforts is by collecting and publishing data relating to the diversity of corporate boards and management. As a first step, the department will stockpile data from all New York-regulated Banking Institutions with over $100M in assets, and all Regulated Non-Depository Financial Institutions with over $100M in gross revenue, and from all entities authorized to engage in virtual currency business activity, including virtual currency licensees ("BitLicensees") and virtual currency trust companies.
This data will include information regarding the gender, racial and ethnic composition of their boards or equivalent body and senior management as of December 31, 2019 and 2020.
DFS said that according to available research female participation in the cryptocurrency community is very low. The participation of women in the sector, including developers, investors, and interested individuals, usually lies between 4% and 6%. According to year 2020's data Bitcoin community engagement by gender reached 86% male and 14% female, constituting a small upturn in female representation. Not only this, 32 Of the 378 venture-backed cryptocurrency and Blockchain firms founded around the globe between 2012 and 2018, 92% had a founding team that was entirely male. In contrast, 82% of all technology firms started in that period had all male founders. A report from Forbes presenting the richest people in cryptocurrency included 19 people, all of whom were white or East Asian men.
The the data will be collected in the fall 2021 via a survey, and its results will be published in the first quarter of 2022.
Superintendent of Financial Services, Linda A. Lacewell, made it clear, in the letter, that applicable financial institutions will be required compulsory to participate in the upcoming NYDFS diversity survey.
"DFS has broad statutory authority to ensure the stability of New York’s Regulated Banking Institutions and Regulated Non-Depository Financial Institutions to protect the public interest, the interests of depositors, creditors and consumers, and to promote the growth of the industry and to request special reports. Under Banking Law §37(3) the Superintendent may require any banking organization to make special reports to her at such times as she may prescribe." the letter said. 