Citi Hit With Racial Bias Suit From a Conservative Law Firm
- Complaint claims lender’s ATM fee policy violates federal law
- Citi says policy intended to alleviate ‘barriers to banking’
A customer uses an ATM at a Citibank branch in New York.
Photographer: Ron Antonelli/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Citigroup Inc. was accused in a lawsuit of racial discrimination for its policy of waiving ATM fees for customers of minority-owned banks.
The plaintiffs, who don’t bank with Citigroup, claim they were charged out-of-network fees for transactions at the bank’s ATMs in Florida, while customers from minority-owned financial institutions weren’t, according to the federal lawsuit filed Friday in Fort Lauderdale. They say the bank’s policy violates federal and California law.