Mark Oliva of National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearm industry trade association, says his organization is "encouraged" by this decision from Citigroup. Oliva says members of the firearm industry have been shut out of financial services offered by Citigroup since at least 2018.
The reversal comes amid increasing scrutiny from lawmakers and the public regarding fair access to financial services. Citigroup plans to revise its employee code of conduct and customer financial access policy to affirm its commitment to non-discrimination based on political affiliation, Reuters reported.
"In some instances, we've seen discrimination against some of our members even before that," says Oliva.
Meanwhile, NSSF is taking a trust but verify approach on Citigroup's change of heart.
"We want to be able to see that our members are able to access the banking services, financial services, that they need to be competitive in this industry through Citigroup," says Oliva. "So, we welcome it so we're going to continue to keep a close eye on this development."
The finance sector has been on alert about transparency and fairness, especially following accusations—predominantly from conservatives—that banks discriminate against certain industries or political groups.

Tensions increased after President Donald Trump accused major banks like Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase of denying services to conservatives.
Citigroup announced its policy in March 2018, saying that "our country has seen acts of gun violence that have resulted in heartbreaking losses."
NSSF has since been working with states and Congress to end what NSSF views as "unfair discriminatory practices by corporate banks," including Citigroup, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. One bill that NSSF was successful in passing is the Firearm Industry Nondiscrimination (FIND) Act in 11 states, which prohibits state agencies and local government entities from entering into contracts with corporations that discriminate against the firearm industry.