(Reuters) Wells Fargo has ended its policy requiring a diverse candidate slate in the first round of interviews for senior-level roles in the US, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing a note to staff.
The move will make banks the latest in the financial industry and reduce diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts after criticism from US President Donald Trump.
Trump has directed the chiefs of agencies to end “illegal discrimination” in federal agencies and the private sector. Earlier on Wednesday, he also asked Apple to scrap the DEI policy the day after the tech giant shareholders voted to keep them.
“Day was a very bad hoax for our country,” he posted on the social media platform Truth Social.
Financial diversity has long been a challenge, and the current business environment risks revoking some modest profits these days.
Citigroup, CEO Jane Fraser, was the first woman to lead a major Wall Street bank, removed the requirement for a diverse candidate slate last week for job interviews. Bank of America also scrapped some of its DEI initiatives earlier this week.
A Wells Fargo spokesman did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
The bank announced many diversity initiatives in 2020. This includes ensuring executive compensation reaches inclusion goals.
Wells Fargo employs 217,000 people worldwide, of which 51% are women. In the US, 51% of employees are white, 48% are racially or ethnically diverse, and 1% remain undeclared, according to a filing with regulators earlier this week.
(Reporting by Nicket Nishant of Bengaluru, edited by Krishna Chandra Elli)
