Citigroup accidentally credited a customer's account with 81 billion dollars, even though only 280 dollars were supposed to be transferred. The incident, which occurred in April 2024 and was not previously known to the public, raises new questions about the bank's ability to prevent operational errors, especially as it remains under increased scrutiny by U.S. regulators.
The error was caused by a manual entry in an outdated backup system after an originally planned payment was blocked due to a sanctions screening. An employee, instructed to manually re-enter the transaction, failed to delete a pre-entered number with 15 zeros, resulting in the incorrect amount.
The erroneous transaction was initially overlooked by two employees before a third discovered the error 90 minutes after the booking. Several hours later, the credit was reversed. No money left the bank, and Citigroup reported the incident to the Federal Reserve as well as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
A bank spokesperson stated that "the internal control mechanisms quickly detected the error and the transaction was reversed." He also emphasized that the existing mechanisms would have prevented any actual outflow of money.
Citigroup has been struggling with repeated operational glitches in recent years. According to an internal report, there were ten so-called "near-miss bookings" of more than 1 billion dollars in 2024, compared to 13 such cases the year before. Such errors do not have to be reported to regulators, making it difficult to assess the frequency of similar incidents across the industry.
The incident highlights ongoing weaknesses in the bank's internal processes. Already in 2020, Citigroup attracted attention with an accidental transfer of 900 million dollars to creditors of the cosmetics group Revlon. This mishap led to high fines, regulatory requirements, and ultimately the resignation of then-CEO Michael Corbat.
Since then, Jane Fraser, who took over leadership in 2021, has made improving risk controls a top priority. Nevertheless, in 2023, the bank was fined $136 million for failing to implement regulatory requirements in a timely manner.
The recent incident highlights once again that Citi is struggling to modernize its outdated payment systems. The error occurred after four smaller payments were initially blocked and then had to be entered manually. The backup system used, which is rarely utilized, is reportedly difficult to operate and technically outdated.
While Citigroup emphasizes that no financial damage has occurred, the incident could amplify regulatory concerns. The bank's ongoing operational problems could jeopardize CEO Fraser's restructuring plan and result in regulators taking tougher measures against Citi.
