Former Citigroup Exec Suing Bank Fired for Performance, Company Says

Citigroup claims a former CEO who sued the bank was fired on performance grounds rather than what it said were attempts by the bank to provide regulators with false information.

On Thursday, the bank responded to a lawsuit filed in May by Kathleen Martin, a former CEO whom Citi hired in 2021 to help with data issues. Martin said in the lawsuit that her supervisor, Chief Operating Officer Anand Selva, asked her to withhold “critical information” from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency about the bank’s data governance parameters.

The lawsuit claims Selva wanted to withhold information because it would make the bank “look bad” and said Martin was fired on Sept. 25, 2023, in retaliation for her complaints.

The data governance work was tied to a 2020 OCC consent order, according to the lawsuit.

In the Citi filing, the bank said Martin became interim president of data transformation when she replaced her former supervisor and mentor Rob Casper after he left the bank. It said the bank was already dealing with Martin’s performance issues in May 2023, before the events Martin claims led to her firing.

The bank also claimed that shortly after receiving her mid-year review in July 2023, Martin contacted human resources to say she believed her position was at risk. In its filing, Citigroup said the executive “did not take on board the feedback that was provided to her” and the bank replaced her in the role of president of data transformation.

Martin was part of a group of Citi employees who worked to comply with the 2020 OCC and Federal Reserve consent orders and to address deficiencies in risk management, data governance and internal controls.

The bank was fined $136 million by the OCC last month for failing to make progress.

Martin’s lawyer, Valdi Licul of law firm Wigdor LLP, told Reuters he was pleased with the bank’s response, saying it signaled the case had legal merit after the bank had previously filed a motion to dismiss the case.

The firm said it plans to seek depositions from Citigroup’s senior management, including CEO Jane Fraser. “We look forward to leading the depositions of Ms. Fraser and Mr. Selva to show that they fired Ms. Martin only because she complained about illegal activity,” the lawyer added.

Citigroup declined to comment beyond its filing.

The case is Martin v. Citibank NA et al, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 24-03949.

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