Elderly denied credit cards in Sweden

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. owned Citibank in Sweden confirmed it is turning down credit card clients over 75 years of age as part of a risk-assessment policy.

The bank said it was "impossible to know how long people will live once they turn 75."

"Those are our rules," the bank's customer service department said.

The bank's head of information, Hampus Stenberg, said the policy was not unusual, the Swedish news agency Tidningarnas Telegrambyra (TT) reported.

"It's a risk assessment that we have, just like many other banks carry out," he said.

But, an advocacy group for the elderly said the policy was punitive and discriminatory, the news service reported.

"It's clear older people are being penalized," said Lars Wettergren, chairman of Pensionarernas Riksorganisation.