The foundation said it sought to include a diversity of lender types, loan types and geographies in its program selection process and also considered commitment levels to the cause. The three credit unions in the group are:

• The New Orleans Firemen's Federal Credit Union of Metairie, La. ($246.4 million in assets, 28,828 members).
• Rivermark Community Credit Union of Beaverton, Ore. ($1.4 billion, 89,413 members).
• Washington State Employees Credit Union of Olympia ($5.1 billion, 302,432 members).

The Beneficial State Foundation is the majority owner and 2007 founder of Beneficial State Bank, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with $1.8 billion in assets and one of the 20 lenders.

"The U.S.'s history of systemic racism has shut people of color out of the financial system, which results in fewer home, business and personal loans — hampering their ability to build long-term wealth and financial stability," its news release said.

The program is designed to increase minority lending by adjusting underwriting criteria.

Erin Kilmer Neel, the foundation's executive director, said underwriters traditionally look unfavorably on factors like smaller down payments and higher debt-to-income ratios, which she said are more prevalent among nonwhite borrowers due to longstanding systemic racism.

Erin Kilmer Neel

"There are fairer methods to determine an applicant's likelihood and ability to repay their loans," Neel said. "Our Lender Pilot Program will help lenders develop more equitable underwriting approaches, like evaluating credit histories instead of using hard credit score cutoffs. The result is high-performing and more racially diverse portfolios."

The foundation said the selected lenders have demonstrated their commitment by actively implementing changes to help people of color access greater wealth. Some lenders have diminished the significance of credit scores in loan evaluations to improve the chances of loan approval for people with lower credit scores. Others have established programs designed to increase lending opportunities for marginalized communities.

The foundation said its program gives participating lenders tools, templates and technology to implement the new underwriting approaches. Lenders will then share their experiences and results to help learn from each other.

The foundation will evaluate loan performance and impacts on borrowers, communities, lending institutions and the financial industry. It will then share what it learned across the industry "to spark change nationwide and offer policy or regulatory recommendations to foster more equitable practices."