Citizen’s Bank can trace its roots back to 1828, when a group of merchants founded the High Street Bank in Providence, Rhode Island. The name was changed to Citizens in 1871.
The bank then expanded through Rhode Island, opening a total of 29 branches in that state. It established Citizens Financial Group as a holding company when the bank acquired The Greenville Trust Company in 1954.
In 1985, Citizens changed status from a mutual savings bank to a federal stock savings bank. Expansion into other states began with Massachusetts in 1986.
In May 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that the US Department of Justice requested records and documents from numerous banks, including Citizens, regarding the Trump 2016 campaign manager Paul Manafort’s transactions.
Manafort reportedly secured a 2.7 million-dollar loan from Citizens in 2016.
In February 2018, Bloomberg News stated that Citizens’ stock price dropped 4.1 percent after U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment of Manafort was released, appearing to indicate that Citizens was the “Lender B” cited as having lent 3.4 million dollars to the former campaign manager of President Trump.
Citizens Bank has agreements with multiple grocery stores and other locations to have bank branches located inside their stores, including Giant Eagle, Stop & Shop, as well as Dunkin’ Donuts.
In April 2022, Forbes gave Citizens Bank a favorable review regarding the student loan process.
Citizens Bank maintains a corporate office in Providence, Rhode Island.
