Citigroup to Pay $26M for Discriminating Against Armenian Americans, CFPB Finds

Citigroup to pay a penalty after being found guilty by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) of singling out and denying credit card applications to Armenian Americans based on their surnames and geographic location in an effort to combat perceived fraud.

Citigroup has been ordered by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to pay a fine of $26M for discriminating against Armenian Americans in their credit card applications over a six-year period from 2015 to 2021.
Employees at the bank were trained to avoid approving applications from people with last names ending in '-ian' or '-yan' and those that originated from Glendale, California, which is home to 15% of the country's Armenian American population, due to perceived higher likelihood of fraud.
Bank employees referred to Armenian applicants as 'Armenian bad guys' or the 'Southern California Armenian Mafia', a factor that led to their higher level of scrutiny and the application of stringent criteria during loan evaluations.
The bank cover-up of the discrimination involved providing false reasons for credit denials to applicants, including citing 'suspected credit abuse'. The employees were also instructed to avoid discussing the discriminatory practice in writing or over recorded phone lines.
Citigroup claims that a small number of its employees were attempting to counter a 'well-documented Armenian fraud ring' in California, but has apologized and assured that they have taken actions against those involved and put measures in place to prevent a recurrence of such conduct.