Citigroup To Pay $25.9 Mln In Fine For Discriminating Against Armenian-American Card Applicants

(RTTNews) - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered Citigroup (C) to pay $25.9 million in fines for intentionally discriminating against credit card applicants the bank identified as Armenian-American based on their last names.

The CFPB said that from 2015 through 2021, Citi singled out for discrimination applicants for certain credit card products, based on their surnames, whom it suspected of being of Armenian descent.

Citi managers even trained their employees not to reveal discriminatory practices via writing or on recorded phone lines. Citi employees also lied about the basis of denial, providing false reasons to denied applicants.

Citi will pay $1.4 million to harmed consumers and a $24.5 million penalty.

"The CFPB found that Citi purposefully discriminated against applicants of Armenian descent, primarily based on the spelling of their last name," said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. "Citi stereotyped Armenians as prone to crime and fraud. In reality, Citi illegally fabricated documents to cover up its discrimination."

The bank specifically targeted surnames ending in "-ian" and "-yan." Most of the victims were from Glendale, California, which is nicknamed "Little Armenia." Glendale is home to approximately 15% of the Armenian American population in the U.S.