Goldman Sachs Offers to Reevaluate Apple Card Credit Limits After Claims of Gender Bias

Apple banking partner Goldman Sachs has issued another statement regarding allegations made earlier in the week that some credit decisions for Apple Card have been made in a discriminatory manner on the basis of gender.


In a typed statement, an image of which was shared on Twitter on Monday night with the comment "We hear you #AppleCard," Goldman Sachs retail bank CEO Carey Halio said that the bank would take another look at credit lines for customers who expected higher limits.

"We have not and never will make decisions based on factors like gender," Halio said. "In fact, we do not know your gender or marital status during the ‌Apple Card‌ application process."

The CEO added that Goldman Sachs worked with a third-party to review its credit decisioning process "to guard against unintended biases and outcomes."

If you believe that your credit line does not adequately reflect your credit history because you may be in a similar situation, we want to hear from you. Based on additional information that we may request, we will re-evaluate your credit line.

Over the weekend, app developer David Heinemeier Hansson claimed on social media that his ‌‌Apple Card‌‌ credit limit was twenty times that offered to his wife, even though the couple has been married for many years, file joint tax returns, and live in a community property state where all income and assets acquired while married are considered jointly owned.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak also reported that his ‌‌Apple Card‌‌ credit limit was ten times that offered to his wife, with the Wozniaks in a similar financial situation where all assets are jointly owned.

In response, the New York State Department of Financial Services announced that it would would examine whether the algorithm used to make the credit limit decisions violates state laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex.

In Goldman Sachs' original response to the controversy, the bank maintained that factors like gender are never used in credit decisions and explained how members of a family could receive very different credit decisions.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.