Glendale, CA — The Armenian Council of America (ACA) condemns the Trump Administration’s decision to terminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) consent order with Citibank, which prohibited discrimination against Americans of Armenian descent. The early termination of this critical enforcement measure represents a major setback for consumer rights, civil protections, and equal treatment under the law.
The CFPB’s action ended the Citibank consent order three years ahead of schedule. The order had been issued in 2023 after federal investigators found that Citibank employees discriminated against applicants with Armenian-sounding surnames—particularly those ending in “-ian” and “-yan”—in areas with large Armenian American populations such as Glendale, California. The investigation revealed that some credit applications were denied, flagged as fraudulent, or existing accounts were closed based solely on perceived Armenian ethnicity. Notably, Citibank illegally fabricated records to cover up the discrimination then claimed that a small number of employees had purportedly circumvented internal protocols to thwart a fraud ring. Citibank was fined nearly $26 million and required to undergo long-term monitoring to prevent future violations.
By terminating the consent order early, the Administration effectively removed key oversight mechanisms that were designed to ensure compliance and accountability. Moreover, ACA is concerned that this decision is part of a broader pattern of regulatory retreat, as the CFPB has dropped multiple enforcement actions and scaled back its consumer protection initiatives. To make matters worse, the Trump administration’s budget director, Russell Vought, recently commented that he plans to dismantle the CFPB altogether.
The Armenian Council of America calls on Congress to investigate the basis for this decision and demand full transparency from the CFPB. Legislative oversight is necessary to prevent future rollbacks of consent orders and to reaffirm the federal government’s commitment to protecting vulnerable communities from discrimination. The ACA urges policymakers to strengthen the legal safeguards that ensure all Americans—regardless of ethnic background—are treated fairly in the financial system.
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The Armenian Council of America