Lloyds Banking Group is to become the first FTSE 100 firm to set an ethnic diversity target for senior management positions.
The lender aims to increase representation of black and minority ethnic (BAME) senior management staff to 8%, up from the current 5.6%.
Lloyds said that its long term ambition is to accurately reflect the customer base it serves, of whom 10% are from a BAME background.
“With the BAME population currently under represented across UK companies, the group is working to remove barriers for talented BAME colleagues to help create a truly inclusive workforce,” the bank said.
Lloyds also wants to bump up its total BAME staff roster from 8.3% to 10% of its whole workforce by 2020.
A total of 7,000 people work in senior management roles at Lloyds and the lender employs 70,000 staff in total.
The new targets will be incorporated into the group’s 2018 Helping Britain Prosper Plan, to be published next week.
Fiona Cannon, Lloyds Banking Group director of responsible business and inclusion, said: “What gets measured gets done and we are confident we can meet our diversity goals with the right focus and determination.
“We recognise that companies with diverse management teams perform better and have made a public commitment to create a truly inclusive workforce.
“It is our ambition to better reflect the customers and communities which we serve.
“Our data shows that while we are making good progress, we think this rate of progress is too slow, so we are committing to bring change sooner.”