By Richard K. Bynum, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer, The PNC Financial Services Group
We’ve long embraced diversity, equity and inclusion as a business imperative. Doing so makes us a better company, a better employer and a better neighbor. We believe that the equity borne from the intentional inclusion of experiences, skills, cultures and perspectives promotes innovation and performance. We value the visible and invisible qualities that make our employees and customers who they are. We believe that committing to diversity, equity and inclusion is a responsibility that we all share.
It is abundantly clear that our country has been unable to effectively address racism in its various forms, including discrimination, bigotry, unconscious bias, economic and health disparities, and violence. For this reason, living our values — particularly diversity and inclusion but also equity and mutual respect — has never been more critical
We believe we have a responsibility to act and an opportunity to respond in a way that helps drive meaningful and sustainable change for those who need it the most.
In June of last year, PNC announced a $1 billion commitment to help end systemic racism and support the economic empowerment of Black Americans and low- and moderate-income communities. The majority of this commitment will come to life through our work in community development banking, but it also includes a philanthropic component and an extension of our employee volunteerism program.
PNC will also support national and local organizations working to help eliminate systemic racism and promote social justice; expand financial education and workforce development initiatives; and enhance low-income neighborhood revitalization and access to affordable housing.
Broadly, we are working to enhance the framework for PNC’s community support to include a greater emphasis on the importance of the educational continuum, economic empowerment, entrepreneurship and social justice issues.
While our focus on the Black community and Black experience may be heightened in this critical moment in our nation, it does not change PNC’s unwavering commitment to full inclusivity of all people and groups in our workplace and in our communities.
Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion also has helped to guide our efforts around economic empowerment. PNC has earned an “Outstanding” rating under the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) since those exams began more than 40 years ago.
Moving forward, we plan to create more opportunities for Black-owned businesses to capitalize on revenue-generating PNC projects, enhancing our already existing supplier diversity efforts. We’re also creating more and better conduits for people of color to more easily gain access to credit and will assist minority business owners with entrepreneurial basics like planning for the long-term and understanding key performance indicators.
Critical to our long-term success in addressing racial equity and social justice will be measuring the impact of our efforts – looking not just at the financial return on investment, but at the impact we create for our employees, customers and communities. Honoring our commitments and realizing shared success. We can and we must get this right.
“We believe we have a responsibility to act and an opportunity to respond in a way that helps drive meaningful and sustainable change for those who need it the most.”
— Richard K. Bynum, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer, The PNC Financial Services Group
