Columbia Financial, Inc.

Rating Overview

Columbia Financial, Inc. is Lower Risk.

Columbia Financial is Lower Risk. The company does not yield to political activism in shaping corporate governance, preventing initiatives that potentially alienate consumers, divide employees, and harm shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. Overall, the company does not embrace corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues. This approach protects free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Lower Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Lower Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	Lower Risk
Political Actions	No Data

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Columbia Financial has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (1).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Columbia Financial does not discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs (1).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Columbia Financial requires its employees to take unconscious bias, microaggression, and DEI training (1). The company appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its supply chain. From its 2023 ESG Report: “Having initially collected data on the diversity of the Bank’s supplier base in 2021, the Bank has since made an effort to increase our supplier diversity by recommending that at least one of three considered vendors is diverse” (2). The company is an affirmative action employer. “Diversity is a core tenet of the Bank’s success. Columbia is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer” (3). The company does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (4).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Columbia Financial supports DEI within its business practices, employing a DEI and ESG Committee (1). The company supports DEI within its business practices. From its 2023 ESG Report: “Our DEI strategy is supported by the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Policy, which outlines the Company’s commitment to cultivate an inclusive culture and our mission to ensure that there is diversity across all levels of the organization” (2). The company supports ESG within its business practices. From its 2023 ESG Report: “Columbia Bank implemented our ESG program in 2021, formalizing an approach that has been part of our culture and practices for many decades” (3).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Columbia Financial has not used corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (1).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

Columbia Financial does not operate a PAC or engage in lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3).