Goldman Sachs ends IPO diversity policy citing legal developments
(Reuters) -Goldman Sachs cancelled a four-year-old policy to only take public companies that had two diverse board members, a spokesperson for the bank said on Tuesday, in the latest such move by corporations expecting greater scrutiny on social policies from U.S. President Donald Trump.
“As a result of legal developments related to board diversity requirements, we ended our formal board diversity policy,” Goldman Sachs spokesperson Tony Fratto said.
“We continue to believe that successful boards benefit from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, and we will encourage them to take this approach,” Fratto added.
Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has issued a series of executive orders aimed at dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government and the private sector.
Goldman is a heavyweight in equity capital markets, the part of investment banking that starts selling shares in previously private companies to the public, a traditional way to unlock new funding for growing businesses.
Another rule that had tried to impose board diversity at that point in a company’s life was removed in December, when a conservative-majority court ruled against a Nasdaq exchange requirement that companies have at least one woman, racial minority or LGBTQ person on their board or explain why they did not.
Goldman’s DEI policy had existed since 2020, when it announced that it would only take public a company in the United States or Western Europe if at least one of its board directors counted as diverse, usually understood as being from a demographic historically under-represented in corporate America.
In 2021 it raised this to two diverse board members, one of whom had to be a woman.
The move toward boardroom diversity was slowing in the United States before Trump took power, as a conservative backlash against DEI policies in the workplace sapped enthusiasm that mounted after the killing of George Floyd in 2020.
Several large firms had made marginal progress increasing the representation of women in management even while policies to do so were in place, a Reuters review of disclosures found.
SEC and Binance Request 60-Day Pause in Legal Case Amid Regulatory Review
(Syndicate) Binance SEC US Crypto Regulations The SEC and Binance jointly request a 60-day pause in legal proceedings as the newly formed Crypto Task Force shapes digital asset policies. Last updated: February 11, 2025 10:36 EST Author Jimmy Aki Jimmy Aki Author Categories About Author
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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Binance filed a joint motion on February 10, 2025, to pause their legal proceedings for 60 days.
This is the first time a crypto-related lawsuit has been temporarily halted since Mark Uyeda became the acting SEC chair.
Binance Legal Proceedings on Hold Due to SEC’s Crypto Task Force
The “60-Day Pause” motion was submitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, with both parties citing the SEC’s recently established crypto task force as a key factor in their decision.
According to the filing, the task force’s work “may impact and facilitate the potential resolution of this case,” necessitating a temporary halt in legal actions.
During this period, no new filings or legal motions will take place.
At the end of the 60-day timeframe, Binance and the SEC will submit a joint status report to determine whether the case should continue or if an extension of the pause is warranted.
Notably, Binance has acknowledged the move and values Acting Chair Uyeda’s efforts to address digital asset regulations. It is committed to resolving the case while maintaining compliance as a secure and licensed exchange.
This decision follows the SEC’s announcement on January 21 about forming a Crypto Task Force led by Commissioner Hester Peirce, a popular advocate for crypto-friendly regulations.
The task force plans to shift the SEC’s stance from an enforcement-heavy approach to proactive policymaking, focusing on providing regulatory clarity.
Background on SEC’s Lawsuit Against Binance And Implications for Broader Crypto Regulations
The SEC’s legal battle with Binance began on June 5, 2023, when the regulator sued Binance, its U.S. affiliate Binance.US, and founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) for allegedly violating U.S. securities laws.
The lawsuit accused Binance of operating as an unregistered securities exchange, misleading investors about trading controls, and misusing customer funds.
Additionally, Binance was sued for promoting unregistered securities, including its native token, Binance Coin (BNB), and other cryptocurrencies like Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA).
However, a federal judge dismissed the SEC’s argument that BNB sales to retail investors constituted securities in June 2024.
Binance has continued to fight the allegations, despite CZ serving a term in prison last year.
Binance’s legal pause aligns with the SEC’s ongoing enforcement actions against other crypto firms.
Coinbase, for instance, faces similar charges related to the unregistered sale of securities through its staking program.
Meanwhile, Ripple remains embroiled in its lengthy legal battle over the classification of XRP.
The case is now advancing to the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit after the SEC appealed a 2023 ruling.
Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett speculates that procedural pauses may also occur in non-fraud-related crypto cases involving entities such as Ripple, Coinbase, and Kraken as regulatory shifts take effect.
Last week, the SEC’s Crypto Task Force launched an official webpage to clarify how securities laws apply to digital assets.
The task force is working to introduce practical policy measures that foster innovation while ensuring investor protection.
It also plans to collaborate with SEC staff and engage with the public to shape new crypto regulations.
As the 60-day pause unfolds, market observers will watch closely to see whether these regulatory shifts signal a more constructive approach to crypto oversight.
The outcome of Binance’s case could influence how the SEC and other agencies move forward in balancing innovation with investor protection.
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Vance tells Europeans that heavy regulation could kill AI
PARIS (Reuters) -U.S. Vice President JD Vance told Europeans on Tuesday their “massive” regulations on artificial intelligence could strangle the technology, and rejected content moderation as “authoritarian censorship”.
In another sign of divergence on AI governance, the United States and Britain did not sign up to the final statement of a French-hosted AI summit that said AI should be inclusive, open, ethical and safe.
The mood on AI has shifted as the technology takes root, from one of concerns around safety to geopolitical competition, as countries jockey to nurture the next big AI giant.
Setting out the Trump administration’s America First agenda, Vance said the United States intended to remain the dominant force in AI and strongly opposed the European Union’s far tougher regulatory approach.
“We believe that excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry,” Vance told the summit of CEOs and heads of state in Paris.
“We feel very strongly that AI must remain free from ideological bias and that American AI will not be co-opted into a tool for authoritarian censorship.”
Vance criticised the “massive regulations” created by the EU’s Digital Services Act, as well as Europe’s online privacy rules, known by the acronym GDPR, which he said meant endless legal compliance costs for smaller firms.
“Of course, we want to ensure the internet is a safe place, but it is one thing to prevent a predator from preying on a child on the internet, and it is something quite different to prevent a grown man or woman from accessing an opinion that the government thinks is misinformation,” he said.
European lawmakers last year approved the bloc’s AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive set of rules governing the technology.
Vance is leading the American delegation at the Paris summit. He left just after his speech, without listening to European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who spoke right after him, or French President Emmanuel Macron, who gave the closing speech. He later met separately with each, for talks.
CHINA WARNING
In his speech, Vance also appeared to take aim at China at a delicate moment for the U.S. technology sector.
Last month, Chinese startup DeepSeek freely distributed a powerful AI reasoning model that some said challenged U.S. technology leadership. It sent shares of American chip designer Nvidia down 17%.
“From CCTV to 5G equipment, we’re all familiar with cheap tech in the marketplace that’s been heavily subsidised and exported by authoritarian regimes,” Vance said.
But “partnering with them means chaining your nation to an authoritarian master that seeks to infiltrate, dig in and seize your information infrastructure,” he added.
Vance did not mention DeepSeek by name. There has been no evidence that information could surreptitiously flow through the startup’s technology to China’s government, and the underlying code is freely available to use and view. However, some government organisations have reportedly banned DeepSeek’s use.
EU TO CUT RED TAPE
Macron told the summit he was in favour of trimming red tape, but stressed that regulation was needed to ensure trust in AI, or people would end up rejecting it. “We need a trustworthy AI,” he said.
Von der Leyen also said the EU would reduce bureaucracy and invest more in AI.
The United States and Britain did not immediately explain why they had not signed the AI Summit’s declaration, as shown by a published text, while at least 60 countries including China had done so.
Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing told the summit that China was willing to work with other countries to safeguard security and share achievements in the field of artificial intelligence to build “a community with a shared future for mankind”.
A source close to organisers said they were not surprised that the United States had not signed, considering their stance on regulation.
A British government source cited concerns about some of the language which Britain could not get changed, and said the approach agreed at the Paris summit was “pretty different” to the first AI Safety summit, which was hosted by Britain in 2023.
“Clearly from JD Vance’s speech, the U.S. policy has an unequivocal shift now,” said Russell Wald, executive director at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence.
“Safety is not going to be the primary focus but instead it’s going to be accelerated innovation and the belief that the technology is an opportunity, and safety equals regulation, regulation equals losing that opportunity.”
Dario Amodei, chief executive of the OpenAI competitor Anthropic, which has aimed to distinguish its work as more safety-focused, said the summit represented a “missed opportunity” to address supply chain controls, AI’s security risks and expected labour market disruption.
