Treasury Department names first counselor for racial equity

By KEN SWEET
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The Treasury Department has hired a former JPMorgan Chase executive to head a new government program aimed at combatting racial inequality issues in banking and other financial-services industries. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday that Janis Bowdler will be the department’s first counselor for racial equity, part of a multi-pronged strategy by the Biden administration to deal with systemic racism found in many parts of the economy. Banking and finance have long had issues with racial inequity, from the lack of representation of Blacks and other minorities at the highest levels of companies to ongoing issues of getting equal access to services for non-white borrowers.