Citigroup announced Tuesday it will end its restrictions on banking services for businesses that sell firearms, reversing a policy it implemented in 2018 following the Parkland school shooting. The bank said the decision was driven by “regulatory developments, recent executive orders and federal legislation.”
The policy was enacted after a teenage gunman killed 17 people at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Following the horrific incident, Citi implemented a policy requiring business clients to follow certain “best practices.” These included not selling guns to individuals under 21, prohibiting sales to anyone who had not passed a background check, and banning the sale of bump stocks and high-capacity magazines. The policy did not apply to personal banking customers.
“As a society, we all know that something needs to change. And as a company, we feel we must do our part,” Citi executive Ed Skyler said in 2018 when the policy was first introduced.
Now, however, the bank says it is abandoning those requirements. Skyler said in a statement this week that Citi “will no longer have a specific policy as it relates to firearms.”
“Many retailers have been following these best practices,” Skyler wrote, “and we hope communities and lawmakers will continue to seek out ways to prevent the tragic consequences of gun violence.”
The move comes amid growing scrutiny over “debanking.” The Trump administration has raised concerns that financial institutions have been denying services to individuals or companies for having certain political beliefs.
John Commerford, executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, applauded Citi’s reversal in a statement to the Daily Caller.
“The NRA welcomes the news that Citigroup has rescinded its discriminatory debanking policies targeting gun manufacturers and dealers,” Commerford said. “Citigroup and other banks were pressured by left-wing activists to implement these measures in an attempt to restrict the lawful sale of firearms.”
