Citizens Financial Group 10-K 2019-12-31

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Fiscal Year Ended

December 31, 2019

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Transition Period From

(Not Applicable)

Commission File Number 001-36636

(Exact name of the registrant as specified in its charter)

One Citizens Plaza**,** Providence**,** RI 02903

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

(401) 456-7000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. ☑ Yes ☐ No

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. ☐ Yes ☑ No

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ☑ Yes ☐ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). ☑ Yes ☐ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act:

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). ☐ Yes ☑ No

The aggregate market value of voting stock held by nonaffiliates of the Registrant was $16,145,696,534 (based on the June 30, 2019 closing price of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. common shares of $35.36 as reported on the New York Stock Exchange). There were 427,434,404 shares of Registrant’s common stock ($0.01 par value) outstanding on February 5, 2020.

Documents incorporated by reference

Portions of Citizens Financial Group, Inc.’s proxy statement to be filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with Citizens Financial Group, Inc.’s 2020 annual meeting of stockholders (the “Proxy Statement”) are incorporated by reference into Part III hereof. Such Proxy Statement will be filed within 120 days of Citizens Financial Group, Inc.’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.

		Table of Contents
			Page
	Glossary of Acronyms and Terms		2
	Forward-looking Statements		5
	Part I.
	Item 1. Business		6
	Item 1A. Risk Factors		19
	Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments		31
	Item 2. Properties		31
	Item 3. Legal Proceedings		31
	Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures		32
	Part II.
	Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities		32
	Item 6. Selected Consolidated Financial Data		34
	Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations		36
	Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk		87
	Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data		88
	Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2019 and 2018		94
	Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017		95
	Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the Years Ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017		96
	Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity for the Years Ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017		97
	Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017		98
	Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements		100
	Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure		160
	Item 9A. Controls and Procedures		160
	Item 9B. Other Information		160
	Part III.
	Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance		160
	Item 11. Executive Compensation		160
	Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters		161
	Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence		161
	Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services		161
	Part IV.
	Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules		161
	Item 16. Form 10-K Summary		165
	Signatures		166

GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AND TERMS

The following is a list of common acronyms and terms we regularly use in our financial reporting:

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements regarding potential future share repurchases and future dividends are forward-looking statements. Also, 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 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. While there is no assurance that any list of risks and uncertainties or risk factors is complete, important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include the following, without limitation:

In addition to the above factors, we also caution that the actual amounts and timing of any future common stock dividends or share repurchases will be subject to various factors, including our capital position, financial performance, capital impacts of strategic initiatives, market conditions and regulatory and accounting considerations, as well as any other factors that our Board of Directors deems relevant in making such a determination. Therefore, there can be no assurance that we will repurchase shares from or pay any dividends to holders of our common stock, or as to the amount of any such repurchases or dividends.

More information about factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found under Item 1A “Risk Factors”.

PART I

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is the 14th largest retail bank holding company in the United States.(1) Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, we offer a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to more than five million individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Our products and services are offered through approximately 1,100 branches in 11 states in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions and approximately 135 retail and commercial non-branch offices, though certain lines of business serve national markets. At December 31, 2019, we had total assets of $165.7 billion, total deposits of $125.3 billion and total stockholders’ equity of $22.2 billion.

We are a bank holding company incorporated under Delaware state law in 1984 and whose primary federal regulator is the FRB. On January 2, 2019, we consolidated our banking subsidiaries via a merger of CBPA into CBNA in order to streamline governance and enterprise risk management, improve CBNA’s risk profile and gain operational efficiencies. CBNA is our primary subsidiary and sole banking subsidiary, whose primary federal regulator is the OCC.

Business Segments

We manage our business through two reportable business operating segments: Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking. For additional information regarding our business segments see the “Business Operating Segments” section of Item 7 and Note 25 in Item 8. Our activities outside these segments are classified as “Other” and include treasury activities, wholesale funding activities, securities portfolio, community development assets and other unallocated assets, liabilities, capital, revenues, provision for credit losses and expenses, including income tax expense. The Other classification also includes the financial impact of non-core, liquidating loan portfolios and other non-core assets and liabilities. For a description of non-core assets see the “Allowance for Credit Losses and Nonperforming Assets” section of Item 7.

The following table presents selected financial information for our business operating segments, Other and consolidated:

Consumer Banking Segment

Consumer Banking serves retail customers and small businesses with annual revenues of up to $25 million, with products and services that include deposit products, mortgage and home equity lending, credit cards, business loans, wealth management and investment services largely across our 11-state traditional banking footprint. We also offer auto loans, education loans, unsecured loans and product financing in addition to select digital deposit products nationwide.

Consumer Banking operates a multi-channel distribution network with a workforce of approximately 5,700 branch colleagues, approximately 1,100 branches, including about 290 in-store locations, and approximately 2,700 ATMs. Our network includes approximately 1,325 specialists covering lending, savings and investment needs as well as a broad range of small business products and services. We serve customers on a national basis through telephone service centers as well as through our online and mobile platforms where we offer customers the convenience of depositing funds, paying bills and transferring money between accounts and from person to person, as well as a host of other everyday transactions.

(1) According to SNL Financial as of September 30, 2019. Based on subsequent peer merger activity.

We believe our strong retail deposit market share in our core regions, which have relatively diverse economies and affluent demographics, is a competitive advantage. As of June 30, 2019, we ranked second by retail deposit market share in the New England region and ranked in the top five in nine of our ten principal MSAs.(1)

The following table presents information regarding our competitive position in our principal MSAs:

Source: FDIC, June 2019. Principal MSAs determined by total retail branch count. Deposits capped at $500 million per branch. Includes banks, savings banks and thrifts. Excludes “non-retail banks” as defined by SNL Financial. The scope of “non-retail banks” is subject to the discretion of SNL Financial, but typically includes: industrial bank and non-depository trust charters, institutions with more than 20% brokered deposits (of total deposits), institutions with more than 20% credit card loans (of total loans), institutions deemed not to broadly participate in the banking services market and other nonretail competitor banks. Due to deposit cap, Citizens Access® retail deposits excluded from MSA deposits statistics.

Commercial Banking Segment

Commercial Banking primarily serves companies and institutions with annual revenues of over $25 million to more than $3.0 billion and strives to be our clients’ trusted advisor and preferred provider for their banking needs. We offer 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 syndications, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities.

Commercial Banking is structured along business lines and product groups. The business

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We are subject to a number of risks potentially impacting our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. As we are a financial services organization, certain elements of risk are inherent in our transactions and operations and are present in the business decisions we make. We, therefore, encounter risk as part of the normal course of our business and we design risk management processes to help manage these risks. Our success is dependent on our ability to identify, understand and manage the risks presented by our business activities so that we can appropriately balance revenue generation and profitability. These risks include, but are not limited to, credit risk, market risk, liquidity risk, operational risk, model risk, technology, regulatory and legal risk and strategic and reputational risk. We discuss our principal risk management processes and, in appropriate places, related historical performance in the “Risk Governance” section in Item 7.

You should carefully consider the following risk factors that may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Other factors that could affect our business, financial condition and results of operation are discussed in the “Forward-Looking Statements” section above. However, there may be additional risks that are not presently material or known, and factors besides those discussed below, or in this or other reports that we file or furnish with the SEC, that could also adversely affect us.

Risks Related to Our Business

We may not be able to successfully execute our business strategy.

Our business strategy is designed to maximize the full potential of our business and drive sustainable growth and enhanced profitability, and our success rests on our ability to maintain a high-performing, customer-centric organization; develop differentiated value propositions to acquire, deepen, and retain core customer segments;

build excellent capabilities designed to help us stand out from our competitors; operate with financial discipline and a mindset of continuous improvement to self-fund investments; prudently grow and optimize our balance sheet; modernize our technology and operational models to improve delivery, organizational agility and speed to market; and embed risk management within our culture and our operations. Our future success and the value of our stock will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively implement our business strategy. There are risks and uncertainties, many of which are not within our control, associated with each element of our strategy. If we are not able to successfully execute our business strategy, we may never achieve our financial performance goals and any shortfall may be material. See the “Business Strategy” section in Item 1 for further information.

Supervisory requirements and expectations on us as a financial holding company and a bank holding company and any regulator-imposed limits on our activities could adversely affect our ability to implement our strategic plan, expand our business, continue to improve our financial performance and make capital distributions to our stockholders.

Our operations are subject to extensive regulation, supervision and examination by the federal banking agencies (the FRB, the OCC and the FDIC), as well as the CFPB. As part of the supervisory and examination process, if we are unsuccessful in meeting the supervisory requirements and expectations that apply to us, regulatory agencies may from time to time take supervisory actions against us that may not be publicly disclosed. Such actions may include restrictions on our activities or the activities of our subsidiaries, informal (nonpublic) or formal (public) supervisory actions or public enforcement actions, including the payment of civil money penalties, which could increase our costs and limit our ability to implement our strategic plans and expand our business, and as a result could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. See the “Regulation and Supervision” section in Item 1 for further information.

Changes in interest rates may have an adverse effect on our profitability.

Net interest income historically has been, and we anticipate that it will remain, a significant component of our total revenue. This is due to the fact that a high percentage of our assets and liabilities have been and will likely continue to be in the form of interest-bearing or interest-related instruments. Changes in interest rates can have a material effect on many areas of our business, including net interest income, deposit costs, loan volume and delinquency, and the value of our mortgage servicing rights. Interest rates are highly sensitive to many factors that are beyond our control, including general economic conditions and policies of various governmental and regulatory agencies and, in particular, the Federal Open Market Committee. Changes in monetary policy, including changes in interest rates, could influence not only the interest we receive on loans and securities and the amount of interest we pay on deposits and borrowings, but such changes could also affect our ability to originate loans and obtain deposits and the fair value of our financial assets and liabilities. If the interest rates on our interest-bearing liabilities increase at a faster pace than the interest rates on our interest earning assets, our net interest income may decline and, with it, a decline in our earnings may occur. Our net interest income and our earnings would be similarly affected if the interest rates on our interest earning assets declined at a faster pace than the interest rates on our interest-bearing liabilities.

We cannot control or predict with certainty changes in interest rates. Global, national, regional and local economic conditions, competitive pressures and the policies of regulatory authorities, including monetary policies of the FRB, affect interest income and interest expense. Although we have policies and procedures designed to manage the risks associated with changes in market interest rates, as further discussed under the “Risk Governance” section in Item 7, changes in interest rates still may have an adverse effect on our profitability.

If our ongoing assumptions regarding borrower or depositor behavior or overall economic conditions are significantly different than we anticipate, then our risk mitigation may be insufficient to protect against interest rate risk and our net income would be adversely affected.

Changes in the method pursuant to which the LIBOR and other benchmark rates are calculated and their potential discontinuance could adversely impact our business operations and financial results.

Many of our lending products, securities, derivatives, and other financial transactions utilize a benchmark rate, such as the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), to determine the applicable interest rate or payment amount. In July 2017, the Chief Executive of the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) announced that the FCA intends to stop persuading or compelling banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021. This announcement indicates that the continuation of LIBOR cannot and will not be guaranteed after 2021. In late 2018,

we formed a LIBOR Transition Program designed to guide the organization through the potential discontinuation of LIBOR.

The discontinuation of a benchmark rate, changes in a benchmark rate, or changes in market perceptions of the acceptability of a benchmark rate, including LIBOR, could, among other things, adversely affect the value of and return on certain of our financial instruments or products, result in changes to our risk exposu

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None.

We lease seven operations centers in Boston and Medford, Massachusetts; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Warwick, Rhode Island; Franklin, Tennessee; Irving, Texas and Glen Allen, Virginia. We own two principal operations centers in Johnston and East Providence, Rhode Island. At December 31, 2019, our subsidiaries owned and operated a total of 40 facilities and leased an additional 1,247 facilities. We believe our current facilities are adequate to meet our needs. See Note 6 and Note 8 of Item 8 for more information regarding our premises and equipment, and leases, respectively.

Information required by this item is presented in Note 18 in Item 8 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Not applicable.

PART II

Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CFG.” As of February 5, 2020, our common stock was owned by two holders of record (including Cede & Co.) and approximately 195,000 beneficial shareholders whose shares were held in “street name” through a broker or bank. Information relating to compensation plans under which our equity securities are authorized for issuance is presented in Item 12.

The following graph compares the cumulative total stockholder returns for our performance during the five-year period ended December 31, 2019 relative to the performance of the Standard & Poor’s 500® index, a commonly referenced U.S. equity benchmark consisting of leading companies from diverse economic sectors; the KBW Nasdaq Bank Index (“BKX”), composed of 24 leading national money center and regional banks and thrifts; and a group of other banks that constitute our peer regional banks (i.e., BB&T, Comerica, Fifth Third, KeyCorp, M&T, PNC, Regions, SunTrust and U.S. Bancorp. Includes Truist for the period subsequent to the merger of BB&T and SunTrust). The graph assumes a $100 investment at the closing price on December 31, 2014 in each of CFG common stock, the S&P 500 index, the BKX and the peer market-capitalization weighted average and assumes all dividends were reinvested on the date paid. The points on the graph represent the fiscal quarter-end amounts based on the last trading day in each subsequent fiscal quarter.

This graph shall not be deemed “soliciting material” or be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities under that Section, and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act.

(1) The Peer Regional Bank Average includes the impact of BB&T and SunTrust through December 6, 2019 which were replaced by the newly formed Truist Financial Corp. on December 9, 2019.

Issuer Purchase of Equity Securities

Details of the repurchases of our common stock during the fourth quarter 2019 are included in the following table:

(1) On June 27, 2019, we announced that our Board of Directors had authorized share repurchases of CFG common stock of up to $1.275 billion for the four-quarter period ending with the second quarter of 2020. This share repurchase plan allowed for share repurchases that may be executed in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, including under Rule 10b5-1 plans. All shares repurchased by us during the fourth quarter were executed pursuant to an accelerated share repurchase transaction, which was completed by December 31, 2019. The timing and exact amount of future share repurchases will be subject to various factors, including our capital position, financial performance and market conditions.

The selected Consolidated Statements of Operations data for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 and the selected Consolidated Balance Sheet data as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 are derived from our audited Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8. We derived the selected Consolidated Statements of Operations data for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 and the selected Consolidated Balance Sheet data as of December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015 from our prior audited Consolidated Financial Statements. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for any future period.

The following selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with Item 7 and our audited Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes in Item 8.

(1) On December 22, 2017 President Trump signed the 2017 Tax Legislation which reduced the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018.

(2) See the “Introduction — Key Performance Metrics Used by Management and Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section in Item 7 for definitions of our key performance metrics.

(3) “Operating leverage” represents the period-over-period percent change in total revenue, less the period-over-period percent change in noninterest expense. For the purpose of the 2015 calculation, 2014 total revenue was $5.0 billion and noninterest expense was $3.4 billion.

(4) Net interest margin is presented on an FTE basis using the federal statutory tax rate.

(1) Beginning in the first quarter of 2019, borrowed funds balances and the associated interest expense are classified based on original maturity. Prior periods have been adjusted to conform with the current period presentation.

(2) Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2019, nonperforming balances exclude both fully and partially guaranteed residential mortgage loans sold to Ginnie Mae for which we have the right, but not the obligation, to repurchase. Prior periods have been adjusted to exclude partially guaranteed amounts to conform with the current period presentation.

(3) The capital ratios and associated components are prepared using the U.S. Basel III Standardized approach and became fully phased-in on January 1, 2019. The December 31, 2017 capital ratios reflect the retrospective adoption of FASB ASU 2018-02, Income Statement-Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income.

INTRODUCTION

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions with $165.7 billion in assets as of December 31, 2019. Our mission is to help customers, colleagues and communities each reach their potential by listening to them and understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, we offer a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. In Consumer Banking, we provide an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a 24/7 customer contact center as well as the convenience of approximately 2,700 ATMs and 1,100 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, we offer corporate, institutional and not-for-profit clients a full range of wholesale banking products and services including lending and deposits, capital markets, treasury services, foreign exchange and interest rate products, and asset finance. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com.

The following MD&A is intended to assist readers in their analysis of the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements and supplemental financial information. It should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, as well as other information contained in this document.

Key Performance Metrics Used by Management and Non-GAAP Financial Measures

As a banking institution, we manage and evaluate various aspects of our results of operations and our financial condition including the levels and trends of the line items included in our balance sheet and statement of operations, used in calculating various key performance metrics commonly used in our industry. The primary line items we use in calculating our key performance metrics to manage and evaluate our statement of operations include net interest income, noninterest income, total revenue, provision for credit losses, noninterest expense, net income and net income available to common stockholders. The primary line items we use in calculating our key performance metrics to manage and evaluate our balance sheet data include loans and leases, securities, allowance for credit losses, deposits, borrowed funds and derivatives. We analyze these key performance metrics and financial trends against our own historical performance, our budgeted performance and the financial condition and performance of comparable banking institutions in our region and nationally.

We consider the following key performance metrics when evaluating our performance and making day-to-day operating decisions, as well as evaluating capital utilization and adequacy, including:

This document contains non-GAAP financial measures denoted as “Underlying” results. Underlying results for any given reporting period exclude certain items that may occur in that period which Management does not consider indicative of our on-going financial performance. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors because they are used by Management to evaluate our operating performance and make day-to-day operating decisions. In addition, we believe our Underlying results in any given reporting period reflect our on-going financial performance and increase comparability of period-to-period results, and, accordingly, are useful to consider in addition to our GAAP financial results.

Other

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Quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk are presented in the “Market Risk” section of Part II, Item 7 — Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations is incorporated herein by reference.

REPORT OF MANAGEMENT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining an adequate system of internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company’s system of internal control over financial reporting is designed, under the supervision of the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect all misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Management assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s system of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019 based on the framework set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013). Based on that assessment, management concluded that, as of December 31, 2019, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective.

The Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019 has been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their accompanying report, appearing on page 93, which expresses an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of

Citizens Financial Group, Inc.

Providence, Rhode Island

Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the "Company") as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, changes in stockholders' equity, and cash flows, for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2019, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the "consolidated financial statements"). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2019, in conformity with accounting pr

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None.

The Company maintains a set of disclosure controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms. The design of any disclosure controls and procedures is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. In accordance with Rule 13a-15(b) of the Exchange Act, as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K, an evaluation was carried out under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of its disclosure controls and procedures. Based on that evaluation, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K, were effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms and is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting identified in management's evaluation pursuant to Rules13a-15(d) or 15d-15(d) of the Exchange Act during the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting, the Report of the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on the Consolidated Financial Statements, and the Report of the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Internal Control over Financial Reporting are included in Item 8.

None.

PART III

We refer in Part III of this Report to relevant sections of our 2020 Proxy Statement for the 2020 annual meeting of shareholders, which will be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days of the close of our 2019 fiscal year. Portions of our 2020 Proxy Statement, including the sections we refer to in this Report, are incorporated by reference into this Report.

Information required by this item is presented under the captions “Corporate Governance Matters” — “Election of Directors” — “Nominees” and “Board Governance and Oversight — Corporate Governance Guidelines, Committee Charters and Code of Business and Ethics” of our 2020 Proxy Statement, which is incorporated by reference into this item.

Information required by this item is presented under the captions “Compensation Matters” — “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” “Compensation Committee Report,” “Executive Compensation,” “Termination of Employment and Change of Control,” “Director Compensation,” “Role of Risk Management in Compensation,” and “CEO Pay Ratio” of our 2020 Proxy Statement, which is incorporated by reference into this item.

The information required by this item regarding security ownership of certain beneficial owners and management is presented under the caption “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” in our 2020 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

Information regarding our compensation plans under which CFG equity securities are authorized for issuance is included in the table below. Additional information regarding these plans is included in Note 17 in Item 8.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

At December 31, 2019

(1) Represents the number of shares of common stock associated with outstanding time-based and performance-based restricted stock units.

(2) We had no outstanding options.

(3) Represents the number of shares remaining available for future issuance under the Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan (46,659,259 shares), the Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Employee Stock Repurchase Plan (5,782,877 shares), and the Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Non-Employee Directors Compensation Plan (1,457,728 shares).

Information required by this item is set forth under the captions “Corporate Governance Matters” — “Board Governance and Oversight — Director Independence” and “Related Person Transactions” of our 2020 Proxy Statement, which is incorporated by reference into this item.

Information required by this item is presented under the captions “Audit Matters” — “Pre-approval of Independent Auditor Services” and “Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Fees” of our 2020 Proxy Statement, which is incorporated by reference into this item.

PART IV

(a)(1) Financial Statements of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., included in this Report:

(a)(2) Financial Statement Schedules

All financial statement schedules for the Registrant have been included in the audited Consolidated Financial Statements or the related footnotes in Item 8, or are either inapplicable or not required.

(a)(3) Exhibits

3.1 Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant as in effect on the date hereof (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed May 8, 2015)

3.2 Certificate of Designations of the Registrant with respect to the Series B Preferred Stock, dated May 22, 2018, filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware and effective May 22, 2018 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed May 24, 2018)

3.3 Certificate of Designations of the Registrant with respect to the Series C Preferred Stock, dated October 24, 2018, filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware and effective October 24, 2018 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed October 25, 2018)

3.4 Certificate of Designations of the Registrant with respect to the Series D Preferred Stock, dated January 23, 2019, filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware and effective January 23, 2019 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.4 of the Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed January 29, 2019)

3.5 Certificate of Designations of the Registrant with respect to the Series E Preferred Stock, dated October 22, 2019, filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware and effective October 22, 2019 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.5 of the Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed October 25, 2019)

3.6 Bylaws of the Registrant (as amended and restated on October 20, 2016) (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed October 24, 2016)

4.1 Senior Debt Indenture between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon dated as of October 28, 2015 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of Registration Statement on Form S-3, filed October 29, 2015)

4.2 Subordinated Indenture between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon dated as of September 28, 2012 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.2 of the Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed July 28, 2015)

4.3 Form of Certificate representing the Series A Preferred Stock (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.2 of the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed April 6, 2015)

4.4 Form of Certificate representing the Series B Preferred Stock (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.2 of the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed May 24, 2018)

4.5 Form of Deposit Agreement, by and among the Company, Computershare Inc. and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., jointly as depositary, and the holders from time to time of the depositary receipts described therein (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed October 25, 2019)

4.6 Form of Depository Receipt (incorporated herein by reference as Exhibit A to Exhibit 4.2 of the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed January 29, 2019)

4.7 Agreement to furnish to the Securities and Exchange Commission upon request a copy of instruments defining the rights of holders of certain long-term debt of the registrant and consolidated subsidiaries*

10.1 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.11 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed November 14, 2014)†

10.2 Amended and Restated Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan as of June 23, 2016 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed August 5, 2016)†

10.3 Amended and Restated Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan as of June 20, 2019 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed August 6, 2019)†

10.4 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement for 2016 Awards (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.11 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 26, 2016)†

10.5 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement for 2017 Award (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.10 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, Filed February 24, 2017)†

10.6 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement for 2018 Award (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.11 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 22, 2018)†

10.7 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.7 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 24, 2019)†

10.8 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement for Bruce Van Saun Relating to Annual Awards (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.11 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, Filed February 24, 2017)†

10.9 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan Form of Performance Share Award Agreement for 2016 Awards (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed May 9, 2016)†

10.10 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan Form of Performance Stock Award Agreement for 2017 Awards (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.14 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, Filed February 24, 2017)†

10.11 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan Amendment to Form of Performance Stock Award Agreement (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, Filed August 3, 2017)†

10.12 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan Form of Performance Stock Award Agreement for 2018 Awards (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.17 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 22, 2018)†

10.13 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan Form of Performance Stock Unit Award Agreement (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.14 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 24, 2019)†

10.14 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan Performance Stock Unit Award Agreement for Bruce Van Saun Relating to Annual Awards (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.15 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, Filed February 24, 2017)†

10.15 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Amendment to Performance Share Unit Award Agreement/Restricted Stock Unit Agreement/Deferred Cash Agreement Terms and Conditions (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.14 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 26, 2016)†

10.16 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 99.3 of the Registration Statement on Form S-8, filed September 26, 2014)†

10.17 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Non-Employee Directors Compensation Policy, Amended and Effective as of April 26, 2018 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed May 9, 2018)†

10.18 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Non-Employee Directors Compensation Policy, as amended April 25, 2019 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed August 6, 2019)†

10.19 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Non-Employee Directors Compensation Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 99.2 of the Registration Statement on Form S-8, filed September 26, 2014)†

10.20 Amended and Restated Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Non-Employee Directors Compensation Plan as of June 23, 2016 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed August 5, 2016)†

10.21 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Non-Employee Directors Compensation Plan Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.19 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 26, 2016)†

10.22 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Non-Employee Directors Compensation Plan Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, Filed August 3, 2017)†

10.23 Amended and Restated Deferred Compensation Plan for Directors of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., effective January 1, 2009 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.19 of Amendment No. 2 to Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed August 15, 2014)†

10.24 Form of Indemnification Agreement (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.5 of Amendment No. 3 to Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed September 8, 2014)†

10.25 Amended and Restated CFG Voluntary Executive Deferred Compensation Plan, effective January 1, 2009 and amended and restated on September 1, 2014 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.21 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed March 3, 2015)†

10.26 First Amendment to the CFG Voluntary Executive Deferred Compensation Plan dated March 1, 2019†*

10.27 Second Amendment to the CFG Voluntary Executive Deferred Compensation Plan dated December 9, 2019†*

10.28 Amended and Restated Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan, effective January 1, 2009 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.20 of Amendment No. 2 to Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed August 15, 2014)†

10.29 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Form of Deferred Cash Award Agreement for 2016 Awards (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.28 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 26, 2016)†

10.30 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Form of Deferred Cash Award Agreement for 2017 and 2018 Awards (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.35 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 22, 2018)†

10.31 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Form of Deferred Cash Award Agreement (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.32 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 24, 2019)†

10.32 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Executive Severance Practice (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.21 of Amendment No. 2 to Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed August 15, 2014)†

10.33 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Performance Formula and Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.28 of Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed March 3, 2015)†

10.34 Amended and Restated Executive Employment Agreement, dated May 5, 2016, between the Registrant and Bruce Van Saun (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.5 of the Quarterly Report on Form S-1, filed May 9, 2016)†

10.35 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement between the Registrant and Bruce Van Saun relating to the May 2016 Grant (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed May 9, 2016)†

10.36 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan Performance Share Unit Award Agreement between the Registrant and Bruce Van Saun for the May 2016 Grant (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed May 9, 2016)†

10.37 Executive Employment Agreement, dated March 23, 2015, between the Registrant and Donald H. McCree III and subsequent addendum dated August 2, 2017 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.7 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed August 3, 2017)†

10.38 Offer Letter, dated May 23, 2008, as amended on August 6, 2014, between the Registrant and Brad Conner and subsequent addendums dated August 6, 2014 and August 2, 2017 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.5 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed August 3, 2017)†

10.39 Executive Employment Agreement, dated September 6, 2014, between the Registrant and Malcolm Griggs and subsequent addendum dated August 14, 2017 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.41 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 24, 2019)†

10.40 Executive Employment Agreement, dated December 13, 2016, between the Registrant and John F. Woods and subsequent addendum dated August 2, 2017 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.8 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed August 3, 2017)†

10.41 Supplemental Retirement Agreement, dated October 31, 1995, as amended, between Charter One Financial, Inc. and, Charles J. Koch (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.37 of Amendment No. 3 to Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed September 8, 2014)†

21.1 Subsidiaries of Registrant*

23.1 Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm*

24.1 Power of Attorney (contained herein on signature pages)

31.1 Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002*

31.2 Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002*

32.1 Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002*

32.2 Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002*

† Indicates management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

• Filed herewith.

Not applicable.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized on February 24, 2020.

SIGNATURES

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each of the undersigned, being a director or officer of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), hereby constitutes and appoints Bruce Van Saun, John F. Woods, Stephen T. Gannon, and C. Jack Read, and each of them, his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead in any and all capacities, to sign one or more Annual Reports for the Company's fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 on Form 10-K under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or such other form as any such attorney-in-fact may deem necessary or desirable, any amendments thereto, and all additional amendments thereto, each in such form as they or any one of them may approve, and to file the same with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done so that such Annual Report shall comply with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the applicable Rules and Regulations adopted or issued pursuant thereto, as fully and to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them or their substitute or resubstitute, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the date indicated.