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Citibank Review | Home Equity
By Stephanie Colestock MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
Citibank is not offering home equity loans or HELOCs at this time. But once economic conditions stabilize, it may once again make these products available to homeowners who want to tap into the value of their homes. These loans can be used to pay off existing debt, fund a home improvement or renovation project, pay for large purchases, or even just provide a cash cushion for borrowers. Here’s a look at what Citibank has offered in the recent past and how it compares to what’s provided by our picks for the best home equity loans.
Table of Contents
- Citibank’s Services
- Citibank’s Credentials
- Citibank’s Accessibility
- Citibank’s Customer Satisfaction
Citibank Home Equity Overview
With roots dating back to 1812, Citi is one of the oldest banks in the United States. It also operates as one of the largest financial institutions in the world, with a network of more than 88,000 branches and ATMs worldwide. Citigroup — primarily through subsidiaries such as Citibank — currently operates in more than 160 different countries and jurisdictions.
Citibank serves as a one-stop-shop for many financial customers with its competitive banking and mortgage rates, a robust menu of financial products, and many different customer service options. While Citi operates all over the world, they do have fewer brick-and-mortar branches in the U.S. once you venture out of the big cities like New York and Los Angeles. Currently, Citi has just over 720 branches compared to banking providers like JPMorgan Chase (more than 4,880 branches), Bank of America (with over 4,000), or Wells Fargo (with more than 4,800).
Citibank’s Services
Citibank offers a variety of depository accounts, in addition to credit cards, investing portfolios, wealth management services, and both home mortgage and home equity products.
As of March 2021, Citi has temporarily paused its home equity loan program and is not accepting any new applications. However, the mortgage lender has announced plans to resume the program once the housing market conditions adjust (though it’s impossible to know exactly when that will be).
What they offer
Home equity loans and lines of credit. Prior to March 2021, Citibank offered fixed rate home equity loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) with loan amounts ranging from $25,000 to $300,000, and repayment periods up to 30 years. They allowed qualified homeowners (who met certain credit score, income, and debt-to-income ratio eligibility limits) to tap into their primary property’s existing equity up to a loan-to-value ratio of 80%.
Home loans. Citibank mortgages were available for both primary, secondary, and even real estate investment properties, as either fixed or adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans. Citi also offered home mortgage refinancing, as well as cash-out refinance (refi) loans for borrowers looking to withdraw a portion of their home’s equity.
Depository products. Personal and business customers can open savings, checking, and certificate of deposit accounts through Citi. Interest rates are competitive in many areas, though not all products, services, or the best rates are available in all states.
Credit cards. Citibank offers a variety of travel, cash back, rewards, 0% APR and balance transfer credit cards to individual and small business consumers. Many of these cards are available with no annual fee, and potential customers can see if they are pre-qualified online with just a soft credit check.
Personal and business loans. Banking customers can take advantage of Citi’s personal loans and lines of credit to borrow between $2,000 and $30,000 at a fixed rate. To qualify, borrowers must meet Citi’s credit requirements and have an annual income of $10,500 or more.
Investment accounts. Whether you’re looking to invest on your own, want the automated guidance of a robo advisor, or prefer to work hand-in-hand with a professional investment advisor, Citibank has a wealth management strategy and services available. Commissions start as low as 0% but can vary according to advisor structure, the investments chosen, and your overall account balance.
Wealth management services. High net-worth individuals – or people who are just hoping to be one of those someday – can develop a long-term financial plan and strategy under the guidance of Citi’s Personal Wealth Management professionals. Advisory services, products, and fees vary by location.
What they don’t offer
Student loans. At present, Citi does not offer private student loan products to either student borrowers or their parents. They also don’t offer student loan consolidation.
Investment property equity loans. In the past, Citibank home equity loans were only offered on primary residences… not second homes or investment properties.
Citibank’s Credentials
Licenses and registrations
Citi is an FDIC member, which means that consumer deposits (checking, savings, and CD funds) are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to the allowed federal limits. Citibank is also an Equal Housing Lender (NMLS #412915).
Awards and certifications
- JD Power and Associates — U.S. Retail Banking Advice Satisfaction Study (2020), #1
- Newsweek — America’s Most Responsible Companies (2020), #7
Third-party ratings
- Moody’s: Aa3
- Standard & Poor’s: A+
- Fitch Ratings: A+
Regulatory or legal actions
There are no regulatory or government actions pending against Citibank.
Citibank’s Accessibility
Citibank currently operates in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions worldwide. Not all products and services are available in all areas, and Citibank only has an online presence in many of those jurisdictions (no physical branches).
Availability
Depending on where you’re located, Citibank offers a variety of in-person, online, and mobile app services. Physical branch locations are only found in 13 states within the U.S., though online services and mobile app access are offered to consumers in all 50.
Contact information
Consumers can contact Citibank about their mortgage or home equity loan products in the following ways:
- By phone: Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET. (You can also request a call from a bank mortgage representative.)
- By electronic message: Existing customers can log in to the bank’s online portal to send a secure message to a representative
- Via live chat
- In-person: By visiting one of their bank branch locations in 13 select states
- In the mobile app: Either open the mobile app or scan Citibank’s QR code to send a secure message through the mobile app
- By mail: Citibank, N.A. MC 2197 BSC; P.O. Box 6205; Sioux Falls, SD 57117-6205
User experience
Citibank provides current and potential customers with a slew of access points, online resources, and contact options. Their online learning centers cover many basic and advanced financial topics, and the bank provides consumers with many different ways of contacting a representative.
The Citi mobile app is ranked 15th in finance apps, and has a 4.9 out of 5 stars rating with more than 3 million reviews. In the Google Play store, the same app has a 4.7 out of 5 stars rating with over 879,000 reviews and more than 10 million downloads.
Limitations
Citibank home loan representatives are not available 24/7, though contact hours extend to as late as 10 p.m. If consumers have a question after those hours, they can send a message through the mobile app or online platform and get a response from the next available representative.
Citibank’s Customer Satisfaction
Overall, Citibank’s customer satisfaction ratings are largely positive. With millions of customers around the world, however, there are some whose experience hasn’t been entirely positive.
Customer complaints
Since Citibank provides many different products and services, customer complaints and experiences can also vary. When it comes to mortgages and home loan products, the majority of customer complaints (particularly with the Better Business Bureau) center around miscommunications with customer service representatives. In many cases, complaints involve long wait times and language barriers between customers and representatives.
Third-party ratings
When it comes to retail banking, Citibank is consistently top-rated on JD Power’s annual studies. In 2020, Citibank ranked first in retail banking customer satisfaction; the bank ranked second in the 2021 study.
CitiBank FAQ
Can you get home equity through CitiBank right now?
On March 3, 2021, Citibank stopped accepting applications for home equity loans and lines of credit. Citing market conditions, Citi announced that applications will resume once those conditions change. Customers who want to tap into their home equity right now might do well to consider the best home equity loans offered by other institutions.
What refinancing options does Citibank offer right now?
Homeowners interested in accessing the equity in their property might consider a cash-out refinance (or refi) instead of a home equity loan or line of credit since Citibank has temporarily stopped accepting applications for the latter. There are two Citibank refi products to choose from: a rate-and-term loan and a cash-out refi.
What are the benefits of refinancing?
With a rate-and-term refi, homeowners can adjust the interest rate and/or repayment term of their existing mortgage loan. This can help lower their overall loan cost, lock in a lower interest rate, reduce their monthly payment obligation, pay off the property sooner, or all of the above. With a cash-out refi, homeowners can access cash from the equity in their home value, often at the same time that they adjust their loan's interest rate or repayment term.
How We Evaluated Citibank Home Equity
In order to accurately and comprehensively evaluate Citibank home equity products, we considered the products and services the financial institution provides and how those compare to other top companies. Although Citibank has temporarily paused its home equity loan offerings, when these products have been offered in the past, they came with competitive terms, widespread availability, and flexible underwriting criteria.
Summary of Sacbee’s Citibank Review
Citibank is a long-standing, U.S.-based financial institution with a presence in over 160 countries and jurisdictions worldwide. They consistently earn top rankings in customer satisfaction and offer a wide variety of products and services, though some of their products are not being offered at this time.
Stephanie Colestock is a DC-based personal finance writer with nearly 11 years of freelance writing experience. She covers a wide range of finance-related topics and is currently working toward her CFP®️ certification. Her work appears on sites such as Business Insider, MSN, Fox Business, CNET, Investopedia, and more.