Goldman pledges $25 million to historically Black colleges

Goldman Sachs Group said it would commit $25 million to a five-year program aiding historically black colleges and universities.

In its first year, the initiative will include 125 students who will get training in fundamental finance skills, the New York-based company said Tuesday in an emailed statement.

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“Diversity is an imperative for our organization,” chief executive officer David Solomon said on an earnings call in January. “This remains a personal priority for me, and we will continue to hold ourselves accountable to make further advancements, including through our new aspirational goals to drive diverse hiring at more levels of the firm.”

The bank said the new program is part of its diversity strategy of doubling campus hiring of analysts from historically black colleges by 2025.

Goldman’s move follows similar initiatives in recent months by the biggest U.S. financial firms. Bank of America took equity stakes in 12 minority depository institutions as part of a $50 million drive, while Citigroup pledged as much as $50 million in growth capital to MDIs and recruited more than a half-dozen lenders to be part of a mentoring program to help them learn how to underwrite bigger loans. Morgan Stanley pledged $24.6 million to three lenders.