Feb 27 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs ( GS ) has dropped an

entire section dedicated to "diversity and inclusion" from its

annual filing released on Thursday, as Wall Street firms dial

back their diversity initiatives after President Donald Trump

took charge.

"We have made certain adjustments to reflect developments in

the law in the U.S.," CEO David Solomon said in a statement.

The bank's previously set five-year "aspirational hiring and

representation goals" are set to expire this year, the report

stated.

Earlier this month, Goldman ended a four-year-old diversity

policy that called for the bank to advise companies on IPOs only

if they had two diverse board members.

Corporate America has softened its stance on diversity,

equity and inclusion in recent weeks after Trump issued an

executive order last month directing government agency chiefs to

dismantle DEI policies at federal agencies and in the private

sector.

"We strongly believe that merit and diversity are not

mutually exclusive. Our people are a powerful example of that

and that's why we will continue to focus on the importance of

attracting and retaining diverse, exceptional talent," Solomon

said.

Supporters of DEI policies say the initiatives seek to

redress longstanding bias, inequity and discrimination. Trump

and his allies say DEI unfairly discriminates against other

Americans, including white people and men, and weakens the

importance of merit in job hiring or promotion.

Trump on Wednesday also asked Apple to scrap its

DEI policies after the tech giant's shareholders voted to keep

them.

Citigroup ( C/PN ) last week also dropped a requirement for

diverse slate of candidates for job interviews. Bank of America ( BAC )

also scrapped some of its DEI initiatives earlier this

week.

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru and Saeed Azhar

in New York; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)