Thomas Callahan

What’s in a name? 

A lot! This fall, the Massachusetts Community & Banking Council changed its name to the Partnership for Financial Equity.  

The dictionary gives us some answers as to why we chose this name. Partnership (noun) is a relationship involving close cooperation to advance mutual interests. Financial (adjective) pertains or relates to money matters. And equity (noun) is about fairness or justice in the way people are treated and the ownership of any asset after any liabilities associated with the asset are cleared. 

We are a partnership of leaders in financial industry and prominent community organization dedicated to closing racial wealth gaps and improving the financial futures of low- and moderate-income households. Born in 1990 on the heels of a Federal Reserve Bank of Boston study on racial disparities in Boston mortgage lending, we bring both financial industry professionals and community activists to the table to research lending patterns, elevate best practices and advocate for public and private policy solutions. 

As Partnership for Financial Equity, our focus will be squarely on the financial future of low- to moderate-income communities and households of color. Consumers interact with a wide variety of financial players, not just banks, and we will seek to engage insurers, mortgage companies, credit unions, mutual fund companies, community development financial institutions, government officials and others as we move forward. Equity has always been at the center of our work and now, it is in our name as well. Equity is something that we, in the commonwealth, strive towards. We are not there, but we can’t give up. It is for this reason that, at our recent Financial Equity Summit, Glynn Lloyd, executive director of Mill Cities Community Investments said about our new name, “Bold choice!” It is a bold choice, but we need to be bold if we are ever going to make equity happen. 

A Bold Choice  

Each word of our new name was an important choice for us. George Floyd’s murder and the pandemic has made us less patient for change. Lots of corporations, elected officials and nonprofits made public commitments It address inequality in 2020. As an organization with a long track record, we have both the staying power and a renewed commitment to engage in changing policy that will tackle racial wealth gaps in a very unequal commonwealth. 

Our organization has a proud history as the sponsor of Basic Banking for Massachusetts, the first voluntary statewide low-cost checking and savings account program established in 1994. In 1999, we developed the anti-predatory mortgage lending campaign, “Don’t Borrow Trouble,” that was adopted by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and later nationally by Freddie Mac. For over 25 years we have produced high-quality research reports on home mortgage lending and small business lending patterns. Those reports led to the passage of the Mortgage Lender Community Investment law in 2007 as Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to cover independent mortgage companies for community reinvestment activities. 

As Partnership for Financial Equity, we launched our new brand with a two-day summit this October that drew over 300 participants and featured local speakers from around the country and subject matter experts from across Massachusetts. In 2023, we will embark on a three-year research partnership with the Chicago-based Woodstock Institute to produce impactful reports on ever-changing mortgage and small business lending patterns. We recently launched a new peer group of Community Reinvestment Act officers as we prepare for the first major reform of CRA in more than 25 years. We have been invited to serve on The Appraisal Foundation’s Council to Advance Residential Equity to be part of addressing racial discrimination in home appraisals and the lack of diversity in the profession.  

We are on the move. We invite both financial industry executives and community leaders to join and help us amplify our unique voice for financial equity.  

Thomas Callahan is the executive director of the Partnership for Financial Equity.