Citigroup hit with $136M in fines over data management issues

Investing.com - Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) has been fined $136 million after the bank was found to have made insufficient progress in addressing its data quality management issues.

This joint enforcement action from the Fed and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) stems from Citigroup's "insufficient progress" in rectifying data management problems and implementing controls to manage that ongoing risk. In 2020, the regulators imposed a $400 million fine on the bank after identifying "ongoing deficiencies" in Citigroup's risk management and internal controls, including data quality management.

Despite agreeing to a comprehensive plan to rectify its data quality and management issues, a Fed examination last year found that Citigroup still had deficiencies and had not made adequate progress on the order.

Citigroup's CEO, Jane Fraser, acknowledged that while the bank has made progress in simplifying its operations and addressing its consent orders, it has not made progress quickly enough in areas such as data quality management. She stated that the bank has intensified its focus and increased its investment in these areas over the past several months.

The bank's top executives also stated last month that they were ramping up efforts to address regulatory problems. In February, Reuters reported that U.S. regulators had requested urgent changes from Citigroup in how it measures the default risk of its trading partners, and the bank's own auditors found a plan to improve internal oversight to be lacking.