Citigroup Alleges Ex-Managing Director's Firing Was About Performance, Not Whistleblowing: Report

Citigroup Inc. C reportedly alleges that a former managing director suing the company was fired for performance rather than for what she said were attempts by the bank to give regulators incorrect information.

On Thursday, Citigroup responded to a lawsuit filed in May by Kathleen Martin, a former managing director hired in 2021 to address data issues, reported Reuters.

Martin alleges that her supervisor, Chief Operating Officer Anand Selva, instructed her to conceal “critical information” about the bank’s data-governance metrics from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

The lawsuit claims that Selva tried to hide information that could damage Citi’s reputation, leading to Martin’s firing in retaliation.

Martin was part of a team working to comply with 2020 OCC and Federal Reserve consent orders related to risk management, data governance, and internal controls.

Citigroup counters that Martin’s performance issues were already under review before these events and that she became interim data transformation chair after replacing her mentor, Rob Casper.

The company claims that after receiving her mid-year review in July 2023, Martin contacted human resources, fearing her job was at risk.

The report quoted Martin’s attorney, Valdi Licul, who expressed satisfaction with the bank’s response and added, “We look forward to conducting the depositions of Ms. Fraser and Mr. Selva to show that they fired Ms. Martin only because she complained about illegal activity.”

Last month, Citigroup agreed to pay a $138,000 fine and $10,600 in costs for failing to report large options contract positions. The U.S. bank regulators, the Federal Reserve Board, and the OCC had earlier fined Citigroup $135.6 million for failing to comply with a 2020 enforcement action.

This month, a federal appeals court ruled that the company’s vice president, Tamika Miller, is not entitled to a portion of the $400 million civil fine the bank agreed to pay in October 2020 due to its risk management failures.

Apart from this, last month, according to the document, Citigroup reportedly breached U.S. Federal Reserve’s Regulation W, causing liquidity reporting errors.

Citigroup stock has gained around 50% in the past 12 months. Investors can gain access to the stock via First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF FTXO and Series Portfolios Trust InfraCap Equity Income Fund ETF ICAP.

Price Action: Citigroup shares are up 0.34% at $62.35 premarket at the last check Monday.

Image via Shutterstock

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.