Bank of America (BAC) and BlackRock (BLK) are scrapping mentions of diversity from their annual reports as scrutiny of DEI policies intensifies across Wall Street.
Bank of America removed all eight references to "diversity and inclusion" in its 2024 report filed Tuesday, when compared with its 2023 filing.
In a number of places where the nation’s second-largest bank removed “diversity” it replaced the word with “opportunity,” including renaming its diversity and inclusion group within its human resources department as the opportunity and inclusion group.
BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager, also removed four references to "diversity" in its new annual report filed Tuesday, including replacing a section titled, "diversity, equity and inclusion" with one called "connectivity and inclusivity."
In that new section, the company stated that "delivering for the firm’s clients” requires “creating an environment that supports top talent and fosters diverse perspectives to avoid groupthink.”
The annual report revisions come as some of the biggest companies on Wall Street are increasingly targets of conservative activists seeking changes to DEI policies across corporate America.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has also dropped almost all mentions of "diversity, equity, and inclusion" from its annual report, and Goldman Sachs (GS) dropped a pledge to avoid taking a company public if that company had an all-white male board.
At Citigroup (C), CEO Jane Fraser announced last week in a memo to company employees that the New York banking giant would no longer require new hires to be selected from a diverse set of job applicants.
She also said that an existing "diversity, equity, and inclusion and talent management” team would now be known as "talent management and engagement."
"It is important to note that we’re living in an environment where things are changing quickly," Fraser said.
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan was asked Tuesday at an event in Washington, D.C., whether his company had a DEI policy in place or not.
"We have diversity and inclusion at our company,” Moynihan said at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C.
“But, step back: We’ve always been the bank of opportunity," Moynihan added.
A Bank of America spokesperson later said in a statement to chof360 Finance that “we are deliberate about the many ways we seek to create an inclusive environment where everyone has the opportunity to achieve their career goals.”
"This is core to our values, to our efforts to make the Corporation a great place to work and to delivering on Responsible Growth for our clients, customers and communities around the globe," the spokesperson added.
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BlackRock declined to comment about its new annual report language. Its CEO, Larry Fink, has in the past used his annual letter to call for corporations to play an active role in increasing diversity in their workforces.
"Just as we ask of other companies, we have a long-term strategy aimed at improving diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at BlackRock," Fink wrote in his 2021 letter.
BlackRock has taken flak in more recent years over whether it is nudging corporate boardrooms at other firms to be more proactive in DEI initiatives. The company casts tens of thousands of votes for its customers each annual shareholder season.
The changes to its annual report follows BlackRock's new proxy-voting guidance published in December that cut back on language specifically setting how it recommends US boards improve racial and gender diversity.
Corporate momentum for reevaluating DEI programs gained steam in 2023 when the US Supreme Court decided a set of cases in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard that outlawed race as a factor for colleges to make admission decisions.
The court held that race-based considerations were discriminatory and violated the Constitution's 14th Amendment and Equal Protection clause.
In another case in 2024, the high court lowered the standard for employees to sue their employers over alleged discrimination.
Impact from the decisions spilled over into the business world as DEI opponents warned that the court's reasoning could also apply to private companies and that maintaining programs could invite litigation.
Even more pressure to end DEI in the private sector came in an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on his first day in office. The order ended federal DEI programs and instructed US agencies to "combat illegal private sector DEI actions."
Trump on Wednesday urged Apple (AAPL) to "get rid" of its DEI policies a day after the company's investors voted down a proposal to scrap them.
"APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM. DEI WAS A HOAX THAT HAS BEEN VERY BAD FOR OUR COUNTRY. DEI IS GONE!!!" Trump wrote in a Wednesday post on Truth Social.
A majority of Apple shareholders on Tuesday rejected the proposal from the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank, that the company "abolish" its DEI efforts because the programs pose litigation, reputation, and financial risks.
The company had recommended stockholders reject the proposal.
David Hollerith is a senior reporter for chof360 Finance covering banking, crypto, and other areas in finance.
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