June 3 (Reuters) - Citigroup ( C/PN ) said on Tuesday it

was rolling back a 2018 policy that placed restrictions on

providing banking services to retail clients selling firearms,

citing recent regulatory developments.

Since the Trump administration took office in January, U.S.

banks and regulators have come under scrutiny from lawmakers

over allegations of denying services to certain industries or

political groups.

The banking industry has fiercely resisted the accusations,

arguing that onerous, outdated and opaque rules make it

difficult for them to sometimes provide services, or explain why

they cannot.

"We appreciate the concerns that are being raised regarding

'fair access' to banking services, and we are following

regulatory developments, recent executive orders and federal

legislation that impact this area," the U.S. banking giant's

Head of Enterprise Services and Public Affairs Edward Skyler

said in a blog post.

Citi added it will update its employee code of conduct and

customer-facing global financial access policy to clearly state

it does not discriminate on the basis of political affiliation.

The bank said it will no longer have a specific policy

related to firearms. Citi added its U.S. commercial firearms

policy was implemented in 2018 and pertained to the sale of

firearms by its retail clients and partners.

The move comes after Republican-led states pushed

legislation to discourage perceived discrimination by banks, and

the patchwork of varying laws meant to ensure banks lend fairly

has led to frustration in the industry.

The dispute made headlines in January when President Donald

Trump accused the CEOs of Bank of America ( BAC ) and JPMorgan

Chase ( JPM ) of denying services to some conservatives. Banks

have maintained they do not deny services on political grounds.