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 Yahoo 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.