Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and a host of City companies have signed up to a new programme to bolster the number of Black candidates in the financial sector, as firms face continued pressure to increase ethnic diversity in their upper ranks.

The US banking giant has joined a new advisory board of charity Urban Synergy, which aims offer opportunities to disadvantaged Black and ethnic minority young people. The initiative, which will mean City firms help mentor up to 1,000 10-18 year olds each year with an eye on offering potential career opportunities, is in direct response to the Black Lives Matter movement, which has swept across the world in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by US police in May.