A joint investigation by American Banker and the San Antonio Current in December, 2024 details the organization’s many problems and how the bank and insurer is currently “navigating a minefield of its own making.” What people don’t talk about is the effect DEI and ESG seems to have had in its downfall.
Yahoo Finance reports:
For instance, it’s been punished for charging military members more interest than federal law allows. For this and other violations, regulators failed it twice in a row in the Community Reinvestment Act exam that measures how well banks serve communities.
This is an exam most banks pass easily and these failures, in 2020 and 2023, point to “a fundamental breakdown” at USAA, said Adam Rust, the director of financial services at the Consumer Federation of America, in the article. “What’s especially shameful about it is that they’re serving service members who deserve better,” he added.
Even more alarmingly, this year customers reported losing thousands of dollars of their hard-earned money due to mysterious deposits and withdrawals, according to a report from News 4 San Antonio. Some say they were even asked to cover negative balances on their accounts after their money was stolen.
There is a lack of cohesiveness.
Three former compliance employees who spoke on condition of anonymity to American Banker and the San Antonio Current complained about the department struggling under pressure, with a lack of cohesiveness, little openness to making processes more efficient and initiatives that “were either falling through the cracks or just getting roadblocked.”
USAA, which serves millions of military members and their families with competitive rates on insurance, banking and investment services, has allegedly gone downhill since the hiring of Wayne Peacock in 2020. He was the first non-veteran hire during the Pandemic and ESG compliance was prioritized over military heritage. Reportedly, it led to reported suicides and H-1B hiring.
After 417 complaints in 2023 alone, CEO since 2020 Wayne Peacock and other managers are retiring, and it’s possibly too late after the damage these left-wing managers have caused since 2020.
A former USAA director of compliance, Lenn Ferrer, stated in 2022 that senior executives at the company disregarded warnings from third-party consultants and compliance staff for years. These executives purposely ignored notices of violations of federal banking legislation and regulatory authorities. The USAA hid its illegal practices, including violations of the Service members Civil Relief Act (SCRA) and MLA, as well as other consumer lending laws.
What Yahoo Won’t Tell You
The United Services Automobile Association’s (USAA) extreme emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), corporate social responsibility (CSR), and environment, social, and government metrics (ESG) is a grave concern to many of its members.
The DEI, ESG Problem
In 2023, Scott Sturman warned at American Thinker of the extreme influence of DEI and ESG at USAA and how it was damaging the company. They have also changed the staffing. The CEO hired in 2020, Wayne Peacock, pushed DEI and ESG and allegedly still has it in place.
The company is also now reportedly very left-wing and DEI-heavy.
During the COVID pandemic, USAA allegedly accelerated its implementation of ESG and DEI policies alongside a quiet culling of senior veteran FTE employees.
According to the company’s demographics, the company is female dominant at 52% and most employees are Democrats. Minorities make up 49% of the employees and 35% of the executives. They have a 9.8 diversity score which is not a good thing if you want cohesiveness.
They don’t appear to be hiring for merit but rather according to meaningless characteristics.
i am a vet and their rates always seem higher. no interest.