A new corporate policy at Citibank, one of the largest corporate banks in the world, prohibits "maintaining accounts for businesses that deal in weapons," according to a letter sent from the Las Vegas branch of Citibank to a local pistol club owner. The letter, dated Feb. 7, said the Nevada Pistol Academy would be forbidden from doing business at the Citibank branch as of Thursday, Feb. 17. The "Notice of Account Closure" said the bank was closing the academy's checking account and instructed account holders to refrain from making further deposits or writing checks on the account. After the closing date, "any additional funds remaining in your account on the date of closure will be sent to you in the form of an official bank check," the letter said. Bank officials provided a customer service number for the account holders "if you have any questions regarding our decision to close your account." Chris Lorenzo, director of the academy, said he received the bank's letter "within 3 or 4 days of opening my account." He told WorldNetDaily that no one at the bank informed him of Citibank's policy when he opened his account. When he called to ask about the cancellation, "they gave me the runaround," he said. WorldNetDaily placed several calls to Citibank officials with no response. Lorenzo said that while he felt the "bank was entitled to its own opinion," he just felt "other shooters might want to know this information." As a result, Lorenzo said he contacted the National Rifle Association who, he said, is looking into the legalities of the case. His NRA contact, Chris Oswald, was out of the office for the weekend when WorldNetDaily contacted the NRA late Friday afternoon. Chris Stark, director of the Texas Gun Owners Alliance, called the action an "outrage," and said it fell "under the category of unlawful restraint of trade." "For Citibank to operate in this manner is a violation of common and ethical business practices and is discriminatory," he added. The full text of Citibank's letter follows:

Citibank (Nevada) N.A. 4065 South Jones Boulevard Las Vegas, NV 89103 Tel 702/364-2061 February 7, 2000 Nevada Pistol Academy 4610 Blue Diamond Road Las Vegas, NV 89139 CUSTOMER NOTICE: ACCOUNT CLOSURE Account Number: (removed for privacy) Your Citibank checking account will be closed ten calendar days from the date of this notice. This action is necessary due to Citibank not maintaining accounts for businesses that deal in weapons. Deposits to this account will not be accepted as of three business days from the date of this notice. Please refrain from writing additional checks on this account. Checks presented for payment will be honored until your account is closed if sufficient funds are available. Any additional funds remaining in your account on the date of closure will be sent to you in the form of an official bank check. If you have any questions regarding our decision to close your account, please contact our 24 hour customer service telephone number, 800-756-7047 or Text Tel/TTD 800-756-0382.