Financial Equity Summit 2023

Summit Recap

Our two-day Summit, with Convening Sponsors Eastern Bank and M&T Bank, on October 3-4, 2023 focused on appraisal bias and innovations in neighboring states, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont. Attorney General Andrea Cambell and Jillian White, CEO of Appraisal Insights spoke on the issue of racial bias in home appraisals. On Day One, we featured Connecticut State Treasurer Erick Russell on baby bonds and Vermont State Treasurer Mike Pieciak on retirement savings. We kicked off the summit with a conversation with Leah Rothstein, co-author of Just Action, the follow-up to The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein.

Our panel subjects included CRA Reform, Small Business Lending, Insurance Company Investing, and the State of Black Homeownership in Rhode Island. We closed the Summit with an in-person session at Roundhead Brewery, the state’s first Latine brewery.

Each year, our Financial Equity Summit brings together bankers, activists, government officials, and thought leaders locally and nationally to highlight what is working and to inspire us to work harder to close our racial wealth gaps and invest in underserved communities.