Oportun Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report 2021: A Letter from Raul Vazquez

Driven by a mission of financial empowerment and inclusion, our business is built to sustainably drive a positive social impact for the people and communities that have historically been underserved by the mainstream financial system. In 2021, we expanded our capacity to serve by launching our responsible and affordable loans into new geographies and with new partners. At the same time, we have continued to diversify our member demographics, as evidenced by the fact that more than 82% of new members now prefer to be served in English and the vast majority of members engaged with Oportun online. Importantly, we also acquired Digit, which expands our mission by transforming Oportun into an unparalleled digital banking platform that helps our members daily when they need to borrow, save, bank, and invest. 

As our business evolves, we recognize that our continued success is predicated on our ability to engage key stakeholders and deliver on a total value proposition that supports a healthy and strong environment, economy, and society through our principles, policies, and practices. This Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report details our efforts and commitments towards building a more inclusive and sustainable company and society.

From communities across the United States, Central Mexico, and Southern India, more than 3,000 Oportun employees embody Oportun’s mission and live our values of Service, Excellence, Care, Courage, Innovation, and Empowerment. I’m proud to share that the majority of Oportun employees – including the majority of Oportun’s leadership team, as well as our Board of Directors – self-report as being women, people of color, or members of an underrepresented community. Our diverse team and their dedication to our mission is our most important asset, and our report highlights our commitments to further strengthen Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Oportun.

In serving our mission and expanding our capabilities as an A.I.-driven digital banking platform, Oportun continues to make a positive social impact for our customers and communities. Since our founding, Oportun has helped more than 1 million of our members* begin establishing a credit score, which can be a life-changing event for many people, who now have expanded access to job opportunities, housing options, financial services, and more.We have extended more than $12 billion in affordable credit, primarily to low- and moderate-income communities that have historically not been well-served by traditional financial services companies. In addition, with the acquisition of Digit, we are strengthening our members’ financial resilience by helping those with the Digit app to effortlessly set aside more than $3,000 annually on average for rainy days and other purposes.

Protecting the environment matters to our members and our team, and in the past year we expanded our commitment to offset Oportun’s carbon footprint to include our estimated energy use across our entire network of retail and corporate facilities in the U.S. and Mexico. As a technology company, we are also committed to diverting e-waste from landfills through our partnership with GreenCitizen.

Along with the significant investments we’ve made in robust internal controls and information security, we continue to advance our capacity for sound corporate governance with the addition of four new and highly accomplished independent board members in 2021, each of whom self-reports as a member of a historically underrepresented community. Their diversity of thought, skills, and experience are already paying dividends and I look forward to continuing to learn from them in the coming years. We also expanded our training and learning resources, including extensive cybersecurity and compliance requirements for all team members, and achieved 100% companywide completion of our new training program on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. As we forge ahead in integrating Sustainability across the company, we formed our pioneering cross-functional Sustainability Task Force that will help drive Oportun’s Sustainability program and performance. These are just a few of the highlights you will find in this year’s report.

I’m proud of all that we accomplished in 2021 and eager for what’s ahead in 2022. Together with our team, our members, and all our stakeholders, Oportun has a very bright and sustainable future ahead and we welcome your partnership and feedback on our journey.

Raul Vazquez
Chief Executive Officer

Read the full report here.