Citi to drop policy restricting services to retail clients selling firearms

(Reuters) -Citigroup said on Tuesday it was rolling back a 2018 policy that placed restrictions on providing banking services to retail clients selling firearms, citing recent regulatory developments.

Since the Trump administration took office in January, U.S. banks and regulators have come under scrutiny from lawmakers over allegations of denying services to certain industries or political groups.

The banking industry has fiercely resisted the accusations, arguing that onerous, outdated and opaque rules make it difficult for them to sometimes provide services, or explain why they cannot.

"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.

Citi added it will update its employee code of conduct and customer-facing global financial access policy to clearly state it does not discriminate on the basis of political affiliation.

The bank said it will no longer have a specific policy related to firearms. Citi added its U.S. commercial firearms policy was implemented in 2018 and pertained to the sale of firearms by its retail clients and partners.

The move comes after Republican-led states pushed legislation to discourage perceived discrimination by banks, and the patchwork of varying laws meant to ensure banks lend fairly has led to frustration in the industry.

The dispute made headlines in January when President Donald Trump accused the CEOs of Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) of denying services to some conservatives. Banks have maintained they do not deny services on political grounds.