01/20/2021

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter Net Income of $456 million and EPS of $0.99

Underlying net income of $480 million and EPS of $1.04

2020 net income of $1.1 billion and EPS of $2.22, $2.41 on an Underlying basis

2020 Record pre-provision profit up 10%, up 12% on an Underlying basis

2020 Positive operating leverage of 2.7%, 4.1% on an Underlying basis

CET1 ratio increases to 10.0%

Board of Directors approves $750 million Common Stock Repurchase Program

PROVIDENCE, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CFG or “Citizens”) today reported fourth quarter and full year 2020 financial results. The earnings press release, investor presentation, and financial supplement are available at http://investor.citizensbank.com. In addition, these materials will be filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on a Form 8-K, as specified therein, and will be available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.

“Citizens was able to meet the unique challenges present in 2020 and demonstrate the diversification and resilience of our business model,” said Chairman and CEO Bruce Van Saun. “Fourth quarter results highlight strong return on capital as credit costs normalize. Our capital and credit allowance position remains strong, giving us confidence that we can meet loan demand while also increasing return of capital to our shareholders. I’d like to thank our colleague base for rising to the occasion in 2020 and delivering well for our customers and stakeholders. We feel we are well positioned to benefit from economic recovery in 2021.”

Citizens announced today that its board of directors declared a first quarter 2021 common stock dividend of $0.39 per share. The dividend is payable on February 17, 2021 to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 3, 2021.

Citizens also announced today that its board of directors authorized the company to repurchase up to $750 million of its outstanding common stock beginning in first quarter 2021. CFG’s common stock repurchases may be executed in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, including under Rule 10b5-1 plans and accelerated share repurchase and other structured transactions. The timing and exact amount of common stock repurchases will be subject to various factors, including the company’s capital position, financial performance, capital impacts of strategic initiatives, market conditions and regulatory considerations.

As previously announced, Citizens will host a live conference call to review its fourth quarter and full year 2020 financial results. Interested parties may access the call and related materials through the following details:

Conference Call

Time: 8:00 am ET

Dial-in: (877) 336-4437, conference ID 3135691

Webcast/Presentation: The live webcast will be available at http://investor.citizensbank.com under Events & Presentations.

Replay Information: A replay of the conference call will be available beginning at 12:00 pm ET on January 20 through February 20, 2021. Please dial (866) 207-1041 and enter access code 2698893. The webcast replay will be available at http://investor.citizensbank.com under Events & Presentations.

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $183.3 billion in assets as of December 31, 2020. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a 24/7 customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 2,700 ATMs and approximately 1,000 branches in 11 states in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.

Cautionary Statement About Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statement that does not describe historical or current facts is a forward-looking statement. These statements often include the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “intends,” “plans,” “goals,” “targets,” “initiatives,” “potentially,” “probably,” “projects,” “outlook” or similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” and “could.” Forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of management, and on information currently available to management. Our statements speak as of the date hereof, and we do not assume any obligation to update these statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those contained in such statements in light of new information or future events. We caution you, therefore, against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. They are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance. More information about factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found under “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 as filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

CFG-IR

Media: Peter Lucht - 781.655.2289

Investors: Kristin Silberberg - 203.900.6854

Source: Citizens Financial Group, Inc.