In a shocking banking mishap, Citigroup Inc. mistakenly credited a staggering $81 trillion to a customer’s account instead of the intended $280 in April last year, according to the Financial Times. The error, which could have sent shockwaves through the financial system, was detected and reversed within hours before any funds could leave the bank.
The mistake went unnoticed by two employees before a third employee spotted the anomaly approximately 90 minutes after the transaction was posted. While the situation was swiftly rectified, Citigroup classified it as a “near miss” and reported it to the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
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A Citigroup spokesperson clarified in an email statement that, although such a massive payment could never have actually been executed, the bank’s detection controls quickly identified the discrepancy between two internal ledger accounts, leading to an immediate reversal. The bank further assured that preventative controls would have prevented any actual outflow of funds.
Interestingly, Citigroup reported 10 near-miss transactions exceeding $1 billion in 2023, according to an internal report cited by the Financial Times. While this number marked a decline from 13 similar incidents in 2022, such large-scale transaction errors remain highly unusual in the U.S. banking industry.
The incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of robust financial safeguards in an era of high-speed digital transactions, where even a small input error can lead to billion—or trillion-dollar—miscalculations.