A community group charged Monday that Sumitomo Bank of California discriminates against female and minority employees, and asked the Department of Labor to investigate.
Sumitomo officials said the charges were groundless. "To be attacking us at this point is very surprising," said Kyle Tatsumoto, Sumitomo's vice president in corporate planning. "We are not sure what their motivation is."
The Greenlining Institute, a coalition of West Coast activists, charged in a complaint with the department that there are no women, blacks, Hispanics, or Southeast Asians in the top 10% of Sumitomo management.
The group also said that women and minorities who do make it into …