She highlighted specific market opportunities. "Minority-owned business banking represents $43 billion in untapped market potential in our region."
"Our current market share in that demographic is 8%."
"Industry-leading bias prevention could triple our market share within two years."
Morrison whistled softly at the numbers. Amelia's tone sharpened slightly.
"But this isn't just about money. It's about institutional integrity."
She looked directly at Sterling. "I founded Metropolitan Trust to serve everyone equally."
"Today's incident violated our core mission."
Sterling nodded slowly. "What do you need from leadership?"
"Full executive commitment to change. Zero tolerance for discrimination at any level."
"Public accountability for our progress."
She clicked to the final slide. "Specific accountability measures: monthly diversity reports from every branch manager, quarterly bias-training assessments for all customer-facing employees, and annual independent audits of our discrimination-prevention protocols."
Morrison raised a concern. "Staff resistance."
"Some employees might view this as excessive oversight."
"Employees who view bias prevention as excessive oversight probably shouldn't work here."
The room fell silent as that truth settled. Sterling's phone buzzed with an urgent message.
He glanced at the screen and frowned. "Webb just posted a LinkedIn statement."
"He says, 'I deeply regret the misunderstanding that occurred today. I was simply following standard security protocols.'"
Amelia's expression hardened. "He's not taking responsibility."
"He's minimizing his actions."
Morrison pulled up Webb's LinkedIn post on his tablet. "He's calling it a misunderstanding and claiming he followed protocols."
"Screenshot that. His failure to accept responsibility demonstrates exactly why systematic change is necessary."
Sterling stood and walked to the windows, looking down at the street below. "You know, in 23 years of banking, I've seen dozens of discrimination incidents."
"Most get buried with quiet settlements and gag orders."
He turned back toward Amelia. "You're doing something different."
"You're making this public and using it to force industry-wide change."
"Because quiet settlements don't prevent the next incident. They just hide the problem."
Morrison's tablet chimed with another alert. "Dr. Richardson, the local NAACP chapter wants to meet with you."
"They're offering to endorse our reform efforts publicly."
"Schedule it. Community partnership will be crucial for credibility."
Sterling returned to the table. "Timeline for public announcement?"
"Tomorrow morning. Full press conference announcing the Amelia Protocol implementation."