Citigroup, the third-largest bank in the US, made a massive payment error, accidentally adding $81 trillion to a customer’s account.
A Simple Mistake, Huge Consequences
The bank intended to add just $280 to a Brazilian customer’s account. However, due to a manual transaction processed through an infrequently used system (because of sanctions concerns), an employee failed to correct a pre-filled field containing fifteen zeros. This resulted in the astronomical error.
A Near Miss
The incorrect $81 trillion balance remained in the account for several hours before a third employee noticed the mistake. The error bypassed two other bank employees before being caught, narrowly avoiding a major financial catastrophe. Citigroup described the incident as a “near miss.”
The Aftermath
The bank reported the incident to the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Citigroup stated that its internal controls quickly identified the error and reversed the transaction. They also emphasized that their systems would have prevented the money from actually leaving the account.
A Pattern of Large Errors?
Internal documents reportedly show Citigroup had ten similar “near miss” events in 2024, each involving erroneous transactions of over $1 billion.
