Day: December 14, 2023
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)
WASHINGTON, D.C.—On December 11, Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) led a letter to the Office of the Comptroller of Currency’s Acting Comptroller Michael J. Hsu to demand answers and further accountability from Citibank for their recent discrimination against Armenian credit card customers.
“We write today regarding disturbing reports of Citigroup Inc. (Citi)’s discriminatory lending practices against Armenian Americans. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Citi deliberately targeted and denied Armenian American credit card applicants based on their surnames and city of residence over a six-year period. According to reports, from 2015 through 2021, Citi singled out credit card applicants with surnames that Citi employees associated with Armenian origin as well as applicants whose addresses were in or near Glendale, California, home to a large and vibrant Armenian community,” the lawmakers wrote.
“Citi is the fourth-largest bank by U.S. customer deposits, according to the Federal Reserve. As one of the largest banks in the nation, their institution plays a key role in determining which individuals and communities have access to economic opportunity. No American should fear that their access to financial services or financial stability will be impacted by their race, ethnicity, nation of origin, or any other protected trait, and it is our job to continue to dismantle the ongoing patterns of discrimination in the financial sector and across our broader society,” the lawmakers continued.
Finally, the lawmakers demanded answers to these key questions:
- Has the OCC launched its own investigation into this case and considered taking additional actions to hold Citi accountable?
- Have any other financial institutions engaged in similar discriminatory actions against the Armenian community or other ethnic communities?
- Do any of the employees responsible for participating in this discriminatory practice still hold employment with Citi, and what disciplinary actions have taken place?
- What actions has Citi taken to ensure this does not happen again?
- What additional regulatory tools are necessary to make sure this does not happen again at Citi or any other institution?
- What proactive steps has or will OCC take to investigate this instance or similar instances of discrimination at other banking institutions under its jurisdiction?
Schiff’s 30th Congressional District, which includes the cities of Burbank and Glendale, is home to the largest Armenian diaspora outside of Armenia. He serves as Vice Chair of the Congressional Armenian Caucus.
This letter was signed by Representatives Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Jim Costa (D-Calif.), Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Raja Krishnamoorth (D-Ill.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Mike Levin (D-Calif.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Haley Stevens (D-Mich.).
The full letter text can be found HERE and below:
Acting Comptroller Michael J. Hsu
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
400 7th Street SW
Washington, DC 20219
Dear Acting Comptroller Hsu,
We write today regarding disturbing reports of Citigroup Inc. (Citi)’s discriminatory lending practices against Armenian Americans. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Citi deliberately targeted and denied Armenian American credit card applicants based on their surnames and city of residence over a six-year period. According to reports, from 2015 through 2021, Citi singled out credit card applicants with surnames that Citi employees associated with Armenian origin as well as applicants whose addresses were in or near Glendale, California, home to a large and vibrant Armenian community. Given the harm done to our constituency and the seriousness of these allegations, we request that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) investigate this lengthy and discriminatory lending practice at Citi and any other financial institutions that may have engaged in similar practices.
As detailed in CFPB findings, Citi allegedly targeted applicants in the state of California whose last names ended in “-ian” and “-yan”—common components of surnames of Armenian origin. Citi’s practices included applying extra scrutiny to, negatively assessing, and denying credit card applications and credit line increases to consumers they identified as Armenian American. Of the most alarming allegations, some of the employees in question referred to these applicants as “Armenian bad guys” or the “Southern California Armenian Mafia.”
According to the CFPB, over this timeframe, Citi employees lied to consumers about the basis of their credit denials, providing false reasons why applicants were denied. Furthermore, supervisors conspired to hide the discrimination by instructing employees not to discuss the discriminatory practices in writing or on recorded phone lines.
While disturbing in scope with nearly 600 consumers who were impacted, this revelation also repeats a toxic history of banks preventing equal and equitable access to credit, targeting and preventing specific communities from accessing credit and loans to purchase homes or build businesses. While the CFPB has ordered Citigroup to pay $24.5 million in fines and $1.4 million in direct restitution that will be given back to impacted consumers, we must make sure that there are sufficient regulatory tools in place that can prevent this kind of discrimination from happening again.
Citi is the fourth-largest bank by U.S. customer deposits, according to the Federal Reserve. As one of the largest banks in the nation, their institution plays a key role in determining which individuals and communities have access to economic opportunity. No American should fear that their access to financial services or financial stability will be impacted by their race, ethnicity, nation of origin, or any other protected trait, and it is our job to continue to dismantle the ongoing patterns of discrimination in the financial sector and across our broader society. Accordingly, we ask that you provide written answers to these questions.
- Has the OCC launched its own investigation into this case and considered taking additional actions to hold Citi accountable?
- Have any other financial institutions engaged in similar discriminatory actions against the Armenian community or other ethnic communities?
- Do any of the employees responsible for participating in this discriminatory practice still hold employment with Citi, and what disciplinary actions have taken place?
- What actions has Citi taken to ensure this does not happen again?
- What additional regulatory tools are necessary to make sure this does not happen again at Citi or any other institution?
- What proactive steps has or will OCC take to investigate this instance or similar instances of discrimination at other banking institutions under its jurisdiction?
We urge your office to investigate this situation further, including any other institutions that engaged in similar behavior, to ensure they do not engage in further discriminatory practices, as well as ensure impacted communities receive their compensation.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to your response and to working together to continue to take action to protect consumers.
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LOS ANGELES—On December 5, the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies, in collaboration with the USC School of Cinematic Arts and Variance Films, hosted a sold-out theatrical screening and panel discussion of Amerikatsi, Armenia’s official Oscar submission for Best International Film.
Due to an overwhelmingly large turnout, the USC School of Cinematic Arts held an additional screening in another room to accommodate the overflow.
The screening was followed by a discussion with Michael A. Goorjian, the film’s writer, director and lead actor, and Patrick Malkassian, producer, in conversation with Luis Moreno Ocampo, Founding Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Ted Braun, USC Joseph Campbell Endowed Chair in Cinematic Ethics, and Steve Swerdlow, Esq., USC Associate Professor of the Practice of Human Rights. Dr. Shushan Karapetian, Director of the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies, introduced and moderated the discussion.
USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies Director Dr. Shushan Karapetian introducing the film
In her opening remarks, Dr. Karapetian highlighted the “rare and beautiful opportunity of being witness to dialogue between such invested and powerful voices, who may never have appeared in the same environment together otherwise.”
The panelists provided an insightful analysis of the film’s universal themes of hope and belonging and the importance of giving voice to Armenian narratives for a global audience.
Amerikatsi tells the story of Charlie, an Armenian-American who moves to Soviet Armenia in 1948 in hopes of finding a connection to his roots but instead finds a country crushed under Stalin’s rule. After being unjustly imprisoned, Charlie falls into despair until he discovers that he can see into a nearby apartment from his cell window—the home of a prison guard, Tigran. As his life unexpectedly becomes entwined with the guard’s, he begins to see that the true spirit of his homeland is alive in its people.
For Michael Goorjian, making this film was an exploration of his identity as a filmmaker and an Armenian-American who had a desire to create something not limited by the experience of Genocide. Goorjian stated that this “film did not have to be about an Armenian at all.” He first heard the story that inspired the film from a Ukrainian friend who knew a man that could see into an apartment building from his prison cell.
“Whether you are Greek or Italian, the exploration of your identity is a shared experience,” said producer Patrick Malkassian. In response to Dr. Karapetian’s inquiry about narrative scarcity, Malkassian described the difficulty of making a film about a group of people whose stories and narratives are historically overlooked.
Ray Stark Family Theatre at USC
Commenting on Goorjian’s nuanced portrayal of the moral dilemmas faced by all the characters, Professor Braun stated, “By allowing us to empathize not just with Charlie, but also with Tigran the prison guard who is equally a captive, you help us understand how impossible the conflicting moral imperatives are, and you do it in a way that allows us to feel the humanity within all of the people trapped in this system…The film humanizes the perpetrator; that is the only way out. Because if you demonize the perpetrator, you repeat the cycle.”
Steve Swerdlow drew parallels to Charlie’s experience in a Stalin-era prison with that of prisoners currently held in Azerbaijan, including Armenians abducted from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and outspoken Azerbaijani journalists who are being tried for trumped-up charges in kangaroo courts.
Luis Moreno Ocampo, who was the first to blow the whistle about Aliyev’s authoritarian regime committing genocide in Artsakh, emphasized the need to engage a wider audience in the fight for prisoners in Azerbaijan, stating: “We need to talk about Armenia. If we talk about genocide our audience is small, but if we talk about this movie and the Oscar, the audience will be much bigger, and then we can talk about rescuing the 55 prisoners in Azerbaijan. You cannot go to Azerbaijan to rescue them, but you can support this film’s Oscar nomination. Your movie, Michael, is giving us an opportunity, because as I’ve learned, the more massive the demand, the easier it is to solve the problem.”
L to R Dr. Shushan Karapetian, Patrick Malkassian, Michael A. Goorjian, Luis Moreno Ocampo, Ted Braun, Steve Swerdlow
“Responding as an artist, in a time like this with something that can reach people, is in many ways the most profound and important thing that you can do,” Braun said about the exodus from Artsakh and artistic response.
The overflowing theater and engaged audience are proof of the film’s unique ability to reach across borders and boundaries, surpass language barriers, and deliver a human story of resilience and capacity for hope.
“Film has the power to transform how we look at people, things, events, places and historical narratives we have taken for granted. It has the power to shape global perceptions and actions. The Institute is committed to bringing essential and pressing conversations to audiences in Los Angeles and beyond,” stated Dr. Karapetian.
Established in 2005, the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies supports multidisciplinary scholarship to re-define, explore and study the complex issues that make up the contemporary Armenian experience—from post-Genocide to the developing Republic of Armenia to the evolving Diaspora. The Institute encourages research, publications and public service, and promotes links among the global academic and Armenian communities.
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Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles or press releases written and submitted by members of the community.
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