The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has terminated a consent order against Citi related to alleged discrimination of Armenian-Americans, according to a Thursday filing.
The watchdog hit Citi with the consent order in 2023 over allegations the bank intentionally discriminated against credit card applicants in California with surnames ending in “ian” and “yan,” and therefore identified as Armenian-American.
Citi neither admitted to nor denied the order’s allegations when it agreed to pay $25.9 million in fines and redress. To date, Citi has “has fulfilled certain obligations” under the consent order, including paying a $24.5 million civil money penalty, making redress payments and taking steps to “implement injunctive relief to prevent future violations,” according to the CFPB.
When the consent order was filed, Citi chalked up its alleged discrimination to a few employees who “took impermissible actions” in “trying to thwart a well-documented Armenian fraud ring operating in certain parts of California.”
“While we prioritize protecting our bank and our customers from fraud, it is unacceptable to base credit decisions on national origin,” a spokesperson told Banking Dive in 2023. “We sincerely apologize to any applicant who was evaluated unfairly by the small number of employees who circumvented our fraud detection protocols.”
Hundreds of people were affected, according to Eric Halperin, then the CFPB’s assistant director for enforcement. The consent order was supposed to last into 2028.
Ciiti declined to comment on the matter Friday. The CFPB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The CFPB has scrapped a number of consent orders since Acting Director Russ Vought took control of the bureau in February. Orders against WaFd, U.S. Bank, Apple and Bank of America have ended early under Vought’s watch.
