United States: In a quiet but impactful pivot, Citigroup has dismantled a policy it upheld for seven years—one that once served as a symbolic firewall between its banking operations and the firearms trade.
Initially introduced in March 2018, this internal directive emerged in the wake of a national tragedy—the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, where a lone teenage assailant left 17 dead and many more scarred. Citigroup’s leadership at the time moved swiftly, asserting that their financial support would henceforth hinge on three standards: no sales of weapons without a background check, no sales to individuals under 21 years, and no dealing in bump stocks or oversized magazines.
This framework, however, was always tailored solely for business clientele, from modest enterprises to corporate juggernauts. Personal banking users faced no such constraints. Citigroup, whose financial tentacles span over 19,000 companies globally, positioned the policy as a moral stand, a gesture of solidarity with public safety concerns.
“As a society, we all acknowledge something must evolve,” said Ed Skyler, the Executive Vice President of Enterprise Services and Public Affairs, back in 2018. “And as a company, we felt an obligation to lead from within,” according to NBC News.
Fast forward to the present, Skyler’s tone reflects a shift: “This initiative was crafted to advocate sound retail ethics—not to police the manufacturing of weaponry,” he clarified in a recent company communiqué. “Moving forward, Citigroup will not maintain a firearm-specific banking policy.”
Skyler noted that a multitude of retailers already abide by the previously suggested best practices, expressing hope that legislative bodies and communities will remain vigilant in reducing gun violence’s grim toll.
But the move didn’t land gently with all. Advocacy group March for Our Lives, spearheaded by Parkland survivors, swiftly condemned the reversal.
“Citi just decided appeasing Donald Trump matters more than safeguarding children,” declared Jackie Corin, Executive Director of the organization. “When 17 of my classmates and mentors were murdered, Citi had the spine to say ‘enough.’ Today, they’re telling us our lives are expendable.”
A Citigroup spokesperson refrained from expanding beyond Skyler’s public statements.
Meanwhile, Harrison Fields, speaking on behalf of the White House, lauded the bank’s decision: “President Trump is steering America back toward rationality, and Citi’s move reflects that awakening—ending prejudicial blocks against millions of lawful gun owners.”
This policy rollback also arrives in the midst of a broader ideological tug-of-war over so-called “debanking.” Conservative voices and technology magnates have for years contended that certain industries and political identities, especially under the previous administration, were unofficially blacklisted by major financial institutions.
That friction hasn’t faded even as President Donald Trump returned to office. During a dialogue with America’s financial titans at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he pressed JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America on these very allegations. Both institutions firmly denied any political bias, with Bank of America noting, “We welcome conservatives and have no political litmus test,” as per NBC News.
To further clarify its position, Citigroup pledged to revise internal codes: “Our updated Employee Code of Conduct and the Global Financial Access Policy will explicitly state we do not discriminate based on political stance—mirroring how we reject bias tied to race or faith. This merely solidifies what we’ve already practiced,” the company said, adding that continued training will be conducted to reinforce compliance.
Bank executives across the board maintain that service termination decisions stem from anti-money laundering and identity verification issues—not ideology. As Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan summed it up, “We serve 70 million Americans. Our doors are open to everyone.”
