In the context of a series of complex re-financings and roll-up transactions by Revlon in May and June, 2020, human error caused a $500 million loss for Citibank.

On 16 February 2021, in the case of In re Citibank August 11, 2020 Wire Transfers, a New York Federal District Court ruled that Revlon lenders who mistakenly received approximately $500 million in payments from Citibank do not have to return the funds. Revlon authorised Citibank to make interest payments to the lenders totalling $7.8 million. Instead, Citibank made wire transfers that paid the loans (which were due in 2023) in full in the amount of about $894 million. Some of the lenders returned about $393 million, upon demand by Citibank.

Originally published in Eurofenix, Spring 2021.