Greenlined Banking Standards
Setting A New Standard for Equitable Banking
As federal safeguards weaken and the racial wealth gap grows, communities across California are coming together around the Greenlined Banking Standards to build a banking system that is more responsive, accountable, and invested in low-income communities and communities of color.
Greenlining serves as a bridge between the financial services industry and communities of color to advance financial health and wellbeing, increase capital access, and drive innovation and climate resilience to remedy entrenched economic inequities.
Learn about how to join our coalition and our movement to advance economic equity in banking.
Join the Coalition
Why We Will Succeed Together
Strategic Partnership
in Action
The Greenlined Banking Standards – developed in partnership with banks, community-based organizations, and advocates – call on banks to play a role in advancing economic equity through their practices, products, investments, and partnerships. Communities across California are joining the movement to redefine what equitable banking could look like.
A deregulated policy environment means there are fewer requirements for banks to come to the table, leaving communities with far less assurance that we will have necessary protections and access to benefits. That’s why partners across California are organizing around the Greenlined Banking Standards to work with the financial services industry to reshape how financial institutions invest, partner, and build accountability with low-income communities and communities of color.
Ready to learn more?
With a growing list of community organization endorsements, Greenlining is building a coalition to strengthen partnerships and drive reinvestments in California.
Explore the StandardsWhy This Matters
Financial institutions have an important role to play in expanding access to opportunity
The Greenlined Banking Standards are a roadmap to transform how banks do business with and in low-income communities and communities of color. Financial Institutions have an opportunity and a responsibility to step up, partner, and invest in communities facing dire economic and climate challenges.
The decisions banks make about lending, investment, products, and partnerships can help shape whether communities of color have the resources they need to thrive, contributing to a banking system that ensures every community has fair access to affordable financial products.
Together, banks and communities can create more responsive investments, stronger local economies, and greater opportunity for future generations. By adopting the Standards, banks can:
- Partner with trusted community organizations to identify local needs and opportunities.
- Establish measurable goals and use data to track progress and accountability.
- Build lasting relationships that strengthen trust and create long-term community impact.
The Greenlined Banking Standards Explained
The Greenlined Banking Standards provide banks with a practical roadmap to build trust, strengthen community partnerships, and expand access to economic opportunity in low-income communities and communities of color.
Learn MoreThe Greenlined Banking Standards are grounded in a simple principle: meaningful community investment happens through partnership
Built by Communities
The Community Voices Shaping the Future of Banking
The Greenlined Banking Standards are the result of a statewide effort to bring communities and financial institutions together around a shared vision for economic opportunity. Developed through collaboration with community-based organizations, advocates, and banking partners, the Standards reflect the voices, experiences, and priorities of the communities they are designed to serve.
Today, 13 organizations are working together to advance a more equitable banking system — one that expands access to capital, strengthens local economies, and invests in the long-term prosperity of California communities.
