Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyFebruary 25th, 2010
There is a little story circulating. So far, it only seems to be getting traction in the business world, and it may well prove to be a tempest in a teacup, but it is worth watching.
It seems there is a start-up social network site that is in the process of trying to create itself (a reason, of itself, to be cautious on this story). But Fabulis.com appears to have decent backing and the CEO has had success with this business model.
They selected Citibank as their banking institution, which appears to have been a mistake. Citi has cancelled their account because of content.
A few minutes ago I spoke to an account manager at Citibank. This manager let us know that a compliance review occurred, which Citi says is a standard procedure, and the review officer determined the “content was not in compliance with Citibank\’s standard policies.” They requested the account be terminated.
“Content was not in compliance with Citibank\’s standard policies.” Yes, that quote is indeed correct.
The interesting part is that I took a look at the Fabulis site and found nothing even borderline objectionable. There weren’t even any shirtless pictures or cheesy sex polls. No links to hookup sites or porn companies. There wasn’t anything that you wouldn’t want your kid sister to see.
Which leaves one wondering just exactly what Citi found objectionable. Was it because this is a gay site targeting gay men? Is that too “controversial” for Citi?
UPDATE:
Citi has now given Fabulis a fabulous apology. So the drama is over.
But it is important that these things get visibility so as to help encourage businesses to act proactively and train their employees rather than respond to complaints.
I’m sure that whoever decided that “gay” is objectionable very much regrets that decision. Very much. But wouldn’t it have been better if they had been trained so as to know better?
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Christopher
February 25th, 2010
The billions of dollars that christian institutions keep at Citi Bank apparently buy a high degree of discrimination.
Move your money to local community banks.
Burr
February 25th, 2010
He’s already gotten an apology..
http://blog.fabulis.com/post/411819786/reaching-the-citi-limits
Perhaps this was just some idiots (bigots?) on the front lines giving him the wrong reason..
andrew
February 25th, 2010
As a Citicard holder, this caught my immediate attention.
On the one hand, Citi has an excellent history of being on the record in favor of diversity. On the other hand, we’ve all seen companies that advertise the face they’d like the world to see, while supporting policies that aren’t so consistent.
I called Citi this afternoon, and they have already received a few phone calls about this issue from concerned customers. They are actively investigating this. I’ve been promised a phone call once they have more information.
I suggest that BoxTurtleBulletin readers wait to see what they have to say. This could be an upset customer misconstruing a refusal letter, it could be a rogue Citi employee who didn’t read the Citigroup Diversity memo, or this could reflect thinking in the company that gay and lesbian people have every right to be offended by.
In the meantime — if you hold a Citicard, if you do your banking with them, or if you have your mortgage with them, I encourage that you call them to let them know that this story concerns you. The number I called was 1-800-374-9700.
If the story isn’t 100% correct, then Citi needs to correct it. If it’s true, then Citi had better do some explaining. For myself, I have absolutely no problem closing my accounts with Citi if it turns out that they are following policies that are effectively hostile to gays.
UPDATE: In the time it took me to write this, Burr posted his piece above, and it includes a great apology. Fabulis poses the question: should they move their accounts, or stay with Citi?
My answer: Stay with Citi. Demonstrate that just as there is a consequence for bad behavior, there is also a reward for companies that behave responsibly and who investigate, apologize, and correct occasional bad behavior on the part of individuals.
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