CITI TO DEDICATE MORE THAN $1 BILLION TO INITIATIVE FOR CLOSING THE RACIAL WEALTH GAP. Citi and the Citi Foundation announced Wednesday that they are investing more than $1 billion in strategic initiatives to help close the racial wealth gap in America. 

The initiative, which is called “Action for Racial Equity,” will focus on four key areasthat relate to closing this gap including greater access to banking and credit for communities of color, increased investments in Black-owned businesses, expanded access to homeownership for Black Americans and an increased focus on anti-racist practices in the financial services industry. 

“Addressing racism and closing the racial wealth gap is the most critical challenge we face in creating a fair and inclusive society and we know that more of the same won’t do,” said Citi CEO Michael Corbat in a statement, while adding that the company is committed to using its resources and influence to “combat the impact of racism in our economy.”

Today, when looking at salary levels, White workers, on average, are paid more than Black and Latinx workers at almost every education level… This wage gap directly correlates with a family’s ability to create wealth, with the median White family having more than 10 times the wealth of the median Black family in 2016…