On Tuesday, Citigroup announced that it would lift its 2018 service ban on retail firearms sellers.
United States banks have come under scrutiny since the new administration began over bans on certain industries and political groups. However, the banking industry has consistently blamed tedious regulations for its servicing rules.
Citi has said that it would no longer have a target policy regarding firearms. It also said that it would update its employee policy on non-discrimination towards political affiliation.
“We appreciate the concerns that are being raised regarding ‘fair access’ to banking services, and we are following regulatory developments, recent executive orders and federal legislation that impact this area,” the U.S. banking giant’s Head of Enterprise Services and Public Affairs Edward Skyler said in a blog post.
These new policies come after Republican states initiated legislation to prevent discrimination by banks.
The ban on gun sellers was enacted in March 2018. In a statement, the company said, “For too many years, in too many places, our country has seen acts of gun violence that have resulted in heartbreaking losses. We are all too familiar with them and there is no need to recount them here.”
The letter went on to seemingly address the bank’s disappointment that governmental action to reduce gun violence wasn’t forthcoming.
“Over the same amount of time, we have waited for our grief to turn into action and see our nation adopt common-sense measures that would help prevent firearms from getting into the wrong hands. That action has sadly never come and as the weeks pass after the most recent mass shooting, it appears we are stuck in the same cycle of tragedy and inaction,” the statement read.
They also noted that the policy had nothing to do with an ideological stance, but wanting to do its part in preventing guns from falling into the wrong hands.
