Major US Bank To Pay $135,600,000 Fine Over Perpetual Problems With Risk Management, Compliance, Data and Internal Controls

US banking giant Citigroup will shell out $135.6 million to regulators for failing to fix longstanding issues with the bank’s risk management, compliance, data handling and internal controls.

The Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) have imposed the collective fine for failing to address deficiencies flagged in two enforcement actions back in Q4 of 2020.

At the time, Citigroup agreed to undergo remediation efforts designed to revamp its data governance and internal control programs.

But in a new review, regulators say they found the bank has failed to make sufficient progress that would have addressed their concerns.

“Citibank must see through its transformation and fully address in a timely manner its longstanding deficiencies.

While the bank’s board and management have made meaningful progress overall, including taking necessary steps to simplify the bank, certain persistent weaknesses remain, in particular with regard to data. Today’s amendment requires the bank to refocus its efforts on taking necessary corrective actions and ensuring appropriate resources are allocated for this purpose.”

The Fed warns that it will impose additional penalties and take escalated formal actions if Citigroup fails to correct its ongoing violations.

Since 2000, Citigroup has paid more than $26.945 billion in fines to resolve enforcement actions including securities abuses, banking violations, investor protection violations and other offenses, according to the Violation Tracker database.

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