Citigroup has agreed to pay $70 million to settle allegations that it violated federal fair-lending laws and attempted to mislead bank examiners, the Federal Reserve said on Thursday.
A Fed spokesman said the fine was the largest ever imposed by the US central bank in a consumer law compliance case.
The settlement will require Citigroup and its Baltimore subsidiary, CitiFinancial Credit Co, to pay restitution to some recipients of home mortgage and subprime loans made in 2000 and 2001.
The fine total may be reduced by up to $20 million based on the amount of restitution made to borrowers, the Fed said.
Citigroup, the world's largest financial services company, did not admit or deny the allegations.
The Fed alleged that CitiFinancial violated regulations that prohibit a lender from requiring a co-signer if the loan applicant is sufficiently credit-worthy by himself.
It said the push to require co-signers was made "in connection with attempts to increase joint insurance sales through an increased volume of co-applicant loans."
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