Citi Diversity U-Turn Signals Wall Street’s Retreat Under Trump

“DEI is part of our DNA,” Citigroup Inc.’s head of talent said in an interview just two months ago, calling it not only a priority, but “a business imperative.”

The bank’s U-turn came fast.

On Thursday, Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser announced she was ending the diversity, equity and inclusion goals she set out less than three years ago in what was one of the industry’s most ambitious and concrete commitments, citing an executive order by President Donald Trump that banned “illegal DEI” policies by federal contractors like her bank.

It is also a sharp change from five years ...