Citi Action for Racial Equity Initiative Invests $1bn to Address Wealth Gap

Citi and the Citi Foundation has launched the Action for Racial Equity initiative which has invested $1 billion to support the racial wealth gap.

The initiative which first launched in September 2020 aims to provide greater access to banking and credit in communities of colour, increased investment in Black-owned businesses, expand affordable housing and homeownership among Black Americans, as well as implement anti-racist practices in the firm and the wider financial services industry.

By the end 2023, Citi will aim for $550 million to support home ownership for people of color and affordable housing by minority developers, $350 million in procurement opportunities for Black-owned business suppliers, $50 million in impact investing equity for Black entrepreneurs, $100 million to support Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) and $100 million in Citi Foundation grants to support community change agents addressing racial equity.

Jane Fraser, CEO of Citi, said: “In just one year since launching Action for Racial Equity, we have already invested $1 billion into initiatives expanding economic opportunity for communities of color.

“There is still more work to be done to advance anti-racist practices both within our firm and across the industry, and we look forward to continuing to evolve our approach to driving diversity, equity and inclusion for our colleagues, clients and communities.”

Alongside this, Citi is also creating a diverse financial institutions unit which will focus on supporting MDIs that serve communities of color.

The team will support the recently launched Citi MDI Rotational Program, an initiative which embeds Citi’s executives within MDIs for up to a year to share expertise and help grow their business.

In October, Citi announced it would conduct a third-party racial equity audit to help close the racial wealth gap in the US.

Sustainability has also been a focus for Citi. Last week, Citi teamed up with Bill Gates’ energy network to accelerate the clean energy transition, with an initial equity investment of $50 million.