Story 85

Discrimination, Protection Networks & Performance Failure

An insular group of senior managing directors in Technology and Data systematically favors employees of shared national origin while discriminating against women, older workers, and those outside their network. Senior leaders have openly stated that people stay at Citi because the longer they remain, the less employable they become elsewhere.

This group operates through mutual protection rather than performance: they routinely refuse to cooperate with Internal Audit investigations, avoid building consensus with peers, consistently overspend budgets without delivering commitments, and offer protection from negative employment actions in exchange for loyalty—including during reorganizations designed to remove poor performers.

The pattern is clear in who remains employed. Staff who fail to deliver, execute, or strategize stay year after year. Productivity does not increase—only PowerPoint presentations claiming progress on regulatory commitments while personnel remain misaligned and under-skilled. Every decision requires escalation because people have been trained to avoid accountability. Everything is last-minute decisions and presentations. No vision, no communication, no collaboration—only blame directed at people who actually deliver results.

One executive elevated an entire team specifically to avoid Internal Audit findings that would have impacted bonuses. When that executive moved to a different division, the work was reopened by IA. Bonuses were likely unaffected. Some were even promoted.

Citi’s CEO continues funding these groups despite minimal delivery, while refusing to allocate headcount for essential regulatory work elsewhere. Discrimination and loyalty matter. Performance and regulatory compliance don’t.