(Reuters) -Goldman Sachs 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 last week also dropped a requirement for diverse slate of candidates for job interviews. Bank of America 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)