Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog

As 2025 unfolds, executives in the banking and financial sectors are navigating a broad spectrum of risks, including regulatory actions and lawsuits from shareholders and employees. To safeguard against these challenges, executives may rely on directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance. Although D&O insurance policies can offer critical protection, their effectiveness often depends on the specific language negotiated, which varies materially between insurer and policy.

In a recent article in The Review of Banking & Financial Services, partner Geoffrey B. Fehling and associate Alex D. Pappas examine ten common D&O policy exclusions that insurers might invoke to deny coverage. They also offer practical advice for executives about how to minimize the impact of these common policy exclusions.

A bill seeking to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practices passed out of the House Oversight Committee on a 23-17 vote. The Dismantle DEI Act, led by Congressman Michael Cloud (R-TX), outlines an effort to end all DEI-related activities within federal agencies, prevent DEI mandates in federal contracting and grants, and ensure that federal accreditation bodies prioritize merit and qualifications.

On October 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) notice, inviting federal contractors to respond to FOIA requests that the OFCCP received related to federal contractors’ 2021 Type 2 EEO-1 Consolidated Reports.

In an historic development for the financial services industry, a group of employees at a Wells Fargo branch bank in Albuquerque, New Mexico voted this week to join Wells Fargo Workers United, a grassroots labor union backed by the Communications Workers of America.  The successful vote marks the first time in memory that employees at a major U.S. bank have elected to unionize.  Workers at Wells Fargo branches in California and Florida have also filed for union elections in the past month alone.