Wells Fargo agreed to disclose the gaps between what it pays men and women as well as disparities for minority groups, a spokeswoman said.
The San Francisco-based firm is the third major US bank in recent weeks to change its policies on pay transparency under pressure from Boston-based Arjuna Capital, a shareholder in the banks. Citigroup said last month it would assess its gender pay gap in three countries and for US minorities while Bank of America also said it would improve disclosures.
Arjuna has been urging large financial institutions in which it owns shares to provide more data about compensation. In exchange, the investment manager has agreed to withdraw shareholder proposals that probably would have been taken up at annual investor meetings in coming months.
Some banks already conduct internal studies on the matter. The most recent reviews at Bank of America and Citigroup each came to the same conclusions: Female employees in the US and UK are paid on average 99 per cent of what male employees earn, after adjusting for factors including role in the organisation, experience, work location and performance. Minority employees are also paid on average 99 per cent what their non-minority colleagues make, the banks said.
- Bloomberg
