In Brief: Citi Cuts Off 1,000 Associates Brokers

NEW YORK — Citigroup Inc. said that at the end of the first quarter it suspended relationships with nearly 1,000 brokers who had done business with its Associates Home Equity Services division.

In a memo sent Tuesday to employees of Citifinancial, the company’s consumer finance arm, Robert B. Willumstad, the head of Citi’s consumer group, said that the brokers were suspended for a number of infractions, and that a review was continuing.

The memo cited “inadequate or suspended state licenses; failure to bring in regular, quality business; integrity concerns; and generally not meeting our standards of conducting business.”

The story was first reported in The New York Times. Citigroup has come under fire from consumer groups for predatory lending practices since its acquisition of the subprime lender Associates First Capital last year.

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