Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has changed its stance on underwriting initial public offerings (IPOs) for companies with all-white male boards.

In 2020, CEO David Solomon announced that the leading investment bank would only take a company public in the United States or Western Europe if the organization had at least two diverse board members, one of whom was a woman, AFROTECH™ previously reported.

However, as of Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, Goldman’s IPO requirement is null and void, according to Bloomberg.

“As a result of legal developments related to board diversity requirements, we ended our formal board diversity policy,” said Goldman spokesperson Tony Fratto, Bloomberg reported. “We continue to believe that successful boards benefit from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, and we will encourage them to take this approach.”

Goldman’s 12-member board currently includes two people of color, one of whom is a woman. Among the bank’s executives, 73% are white, with 56% being men. Data submitted to the U.S. government in 2023 shows that 3.8% of executives were Black, an increase from 3.2% in 2020, per Bloomberg.

Since beginning his second term on Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump has signed several executive orders to eliminate “illegal” diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies nationwide.

In a Jan. 21, 2025, executive order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” the president said longstanding federal civil rights laws protect Americans from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and these laws serve as a foundation for equality of opportunity for all.

“As President, I have a solemn duty to ensure that these laws are enforced for the benefit of all Americans,” Trump wrote.

He continued, stating in the order, “Yet today, roughly 60 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, critical and influential institutions of American society, including the Federal Government, major corporations, financial institutions, the medical industry, large commercial airlines, law enforcement agencies, and institutions of higher education have adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) or “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” (DEIA) that can violate the civil-rights laws of this Nation.”

Many companies — including Walmart, Ford, Google, Meta, Amazon, Target, and McDonald’s — have either completely scrapped or scaled back their DEI initiatives, as AFROTECH™ previously noted.

However, given the bank’s previous stance, Goldman’s shift may surprise many.

In May 2021, the company told Bloomberg that it had helped find 23 diverse directors for 21 companies, which eventually increased to 125.

When Solomon announced the IPO requirement in 2020, he explained that U.S. companies with at least one female director performed better in the public offering market than companies without a female board member, AFROTECH™ noted.

The CEO also highlighted the firm’s commitment to diversity and readiness to reject companies that didn’t meet its new diversity requirements.

“Look, we might miss some business, but in the long run, this, I think, is the best advice for companies that want to drive premium returns for their shareholders over time,” Solomon said, per AFROTECH™.