Citigroup Inc. accidentally credited $81 trillion to a customer’s account instead of $280 last April, according to a report by the Financial Times. The error went unnoticed by two employees and was flagged by a third employee 90 minutes after posting. No funds left the bank, and the incident was reported as a “near miss” to the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
“Despite the fact that a payment of this size could not actually have been executed, our detective controls promptly identified the inputting error between two Citi ledger accounts and we reversed the entry,” a Citigroup spokesperson said in an emailed response to the FT. “Our preventative controls would have also stopped any funds leaving the bank.”The spokesperson noted that the incident had no impact on the bank or its client.
“Despite the fact that a payment of this size could not actually have been executed, our detective controls promptly identified the inputting error between two Citi ledger accounts and we reversed the entry,” a Citigroup spokesperson said in an emailed response to the FT. “Our preventative controls would have also stopped any funds leaving the bank.”The spokesperson noted that the incident had no impact on the bank or its client.
A total of 10 near misses of $1 billion or more occurred at Citi last year, according to the FT, citing an internal report. While it’s down from 13 cases in previous year, the report said near misses of greater than $1 billion were unusual across the US bank industry.
First Published: Feb 28, 2025 3:15 PM IS
