Thirteen Chicago area financial services firms including Urban Partnership Bank have joined together to explore ways to get more black and Latino workers into the industry. Minorities are underrepresented in financial services; more than 90 percent of senior-level staffers at Chicago-area financial services firms are white according to a 2012 survey. In addition to hosting a conference on boosting minority hires, the group is conducting research to identify challenges to hiring black and Latino workers and identifying ways that their hiring can be increased. The group also aims to develop a yearly index to track minority representation in the financial services industry.