Citigroup stops debanking gun retailers
Citigroup announced Tuesday that it’s ending its policy restricting banking services to businesses selling firearms, citing “regulatory developments, recent executive orders and federal legislation.”
The policy, which required retailers to limit gun sales to people over 21, was originally implemented in 2018 after a 19-year-old shot and killed 17 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. However, in a statement released Tuesday, the bank indicated it will “no longer have a specific policy regarding firearms.”
“The policy was intended to promote the adoption of best sales practices as prudent risk management and didn’t address the manufacturing of firearms,” the statement read. “These changes reinforce our commitment to serve all clients fairly, and we will continue to work with regulators and elected officials on ways to improve transparency and trust in the banking sector.”
Citigroup also announced that it would update its employee code of conduct to explicitly state that it “does not discriminate on the basis of political affiliation in the same way we are clear that we do not discriminate on the basis of other traits such as race and religion.”
The announcement follows pressure from the Trump administration, which urged companies to end discriminatory lending practices, or the “debanking” of conservatives.
“I hope you will open your banks to conservatives, because what you are doing is wrong,” President Donald Trump said to the CEO of Bank of America during a January speech at the World Economic Forum, after it allegedly closed the bank accounts of conservative individuals and groups.
Trump himself says he’s a victim of “debanking.” In March, the Trump organization filed a lawsuit against Capital One, alleging that the bank closed its accounts in 2021 for politically motivated reasons.
“The NRA welcomes the news that Citigroup has rescinded its discriminatory debanking policies targeting gun manufacturers and dealers. Citigroup and other banks were pressured by left-wing activists to implement these measures in an attempt to restrict the lawful sale of firearms,” said John Commerford, executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, in a statement shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Republican lawmakers have proposed several bills to stop financial institutions from targeting individuals and businesses based on their personal beliefs or political affiliation. In February, GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota introduced the “Fair Access to Banking Act,” which Commerford said would “prevent other financial institutions from denying banking services to constitutionally protected industries.”
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