By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Verity Credit Union remains steadfast in its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), reinforcing its role as a financial institution dedicated to fostering economic opportunities. At a time when many companies across the nation are scaling back DEI initiatives, Verity continues to prioritize these efforts, recognizing their crucial role in both the organization’s growth and the financial well-being of the communities it serves.
According to the company’s website, Verity partners “with communities to co-create products and services that help individuals and small businesses thrive. Our commitment to socially responsible, inclusive banking practices means everyone has greater access to saving and lending opportunities.”
As a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Verity serves individuals and businesses that have historically been excluded from traditional financial services. Chief Impact Strategy Officer Ziquora Banks says that the organization’s emphasized the organization’s mission-driven approach is to actively breaks down barriers to help individuals and small businesses achieve and sustain financial well-being
“Being that we are a community development financial institution, DEI is essential for our organization,” Banks said. “It’s really critical for us to lean even deeper into the work that we have committed to, especially because we are technically a financial institution impacted by systems that unfortunately have a history of inequity and disparities connected to them.”
For Verity, DEI is not just an internal priority—it extends to the communities it serves. The credit union’s CDFI status enables it to apply for financial awards that support programs such as mortgage lending for first-time homebuyers, flexible underwriting for community facilities, and commercial loans for businesses in low-income areas.
“Even with some of the present administration’s rollbacks, like the freeze, there was a moment in time where, because we are a CDFI, we also received federal funding,” Banks said. “That funding allows us to provide more affordable loans, products, and services to underserved communities.”
By banking with Verity, consumers contribute to the development of a stable and equitable economy. Whether individuals are looking to save, apply for a loan, invest in their futures, build credit, manage debt, or create generational wealth, Verity provides the resources and guidance to help them achieve financial security.
Banks says that Verity does not treat DEI as a separate initiative but as a fundamental part of its operational structure.
“DEI for us — we call it Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging — but it is just as critical as any pillar in our organization,” she said. “It is not separate; it is embedded in how we operate. Whether through hiring practices, product creation, or balance sheet decisions, DEI is integral to our business model.”
Verity ensures that DEI is embedded in its hiring and promotion practices through structured training programs and standardized protocols. Banks outlined several key strategies used to minimize bias and promote inclusive hiring.
“We not only provide education internally, but we also focus on how employees connect to DEI in their daily work,” Banks said. “We have a standardized process that includes interview guides, diverse hiring panels, and a focus on skills, behaviors, and competencies needed for each role to prevent unconscious bias. Candidates receive interview questions in advance to accommodate different needs during the interview process. All managers participate in bias and inclusion training, and we review job descriptions to remove gender-exclusive language. We are intentional about reaching out through job fairs, partnering with colleges and universities, and ensuring we hire from the communities we serve.”
“This is really important to us,” adds Banks.
Beyond hiring, Verity prioritizes pay equity, ensuring that compensation practices align with its commitment to fairness.
“The other part is a pay equity perspective because obviously that is another aspect when we talk about DEI, we do pay equity audits to ensure that there’s equity across demographics. We also make sure that even in our process for performance reviews that they are equity centered.”
Through exercising the basic principles of DEI, Verity looks to be a trusted community development financial partner advancing racial equity and advocating systemic change for all, while helping their constituents with pathways to generational wealth, while also helping to build a “thriving and sustainable” community.
“DEI is important because it really is the key to having a thriving and sustainable community, without it we run into unfortunately the same recurring theme, the same narratives, nothing changes,” says Banks. “So we talk about we want to see all folks thrive, we want folks to access to jobs, we want folks to have these type of opportunities and it’s important that DEI is centered in that, because it doesn’t mean that somebody else is going to lose something because there is DEI, more than anything we all win from it.”
