Citizens Financial Group 10-K 2023-12-31

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, 2023

☐ 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)

(203) 900-6715

(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, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth 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 has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☑

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

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 non-affiliates of the registrant was $12,304,245,801 (based on the June 30, 2023 closing price of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. common shares of $26.08 as reported on the New York Stock Exchange). There were 458,756,723 shares of the registrant’s common stock ($0.01 par value) outstanding on February 1, 2024.

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 2024 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, 2023.

						Table of Contents
									Page
			Glossary of Acronyms and Terms						2
			Forward-looking Statements						5
			Part I.
			Item 1. Business						6
			Item 1A. Risk Factors						20
			Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments						33
			Item 1C. Cybersecurity						33
			Item 2. Properties						34
			Item 3. Legal Proceedings						34
			Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures						34
			Part II.
			Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities						34
			Item 6. Reserved						36
			Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations						37
			Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk						77
			Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data						78
			Consolidated Balance Sheets						84
			Consolidated Statements of Operations						85
			Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income						86
			Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity						87
			Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows						88
			Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements						90
			Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure						153
			Item 9A. Controls and Procedures						153
			Item 9B. Other Information						154
			Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections						154
			Part III.
			Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance						154
			Item 11. Executive Compensation						154
			Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters						155
			Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence						155
			Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services						155
			Part IV.
			Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules						155
			Item 16. Form 10-K Summary						159
			Signatures						160

GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AND TERMS

The following is a list of common acronyms and terms used regularly 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. 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,” “guidance” 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:

• Negative economic, business and political conditions, including as a result of the interest rate environment, supply chain disruptions, inflationary pressures and labor shortages, that adversely affect the general economy, housing prices, the job market, consumer confidence and spending habits;

• The general state of the economy and employment, as well as general business and economic conditions, and changes in the competitive environment;

• Our capital and liquidity requirements under regulatory standards and our ability to generate capital and liquidity on favorable terms;

• The effect of changes in our credit ratings on our cost of funding, access to capital markets, ability to market our securities, and overall liquidity position;

• The effect of changes in the level of commercial and consumer deposits on our funding costs and net interest margin;

• Our ability to implement our business strategy, including the cost savings and efficiency components, and achieve our financial performance goals, including the anticipated benefits of the Private Bank start-up investment and Investors acquisition;

• The effects of geopolitical instability, including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, on economic and market conditions, inflationary pressures and the interest rate environment, commodity price and foreign exchange rate volatility, and heightened cybersecurity risks;

• Our ability to comply with heightened supervisory requirements and expectations;

• Liabilities and business restrictions resulting from litigation and regulatory investigations;

• The effect of changes in interest rates on our net interest income, net interest margin and our mortgage originations, mortgage servicing rights and mortgages held for sale;

• Changes in interest rates and market liquidity, as well as the magnitude of such changes, which may reduce interest margins, impact funding sources and affect the ability to originate and distribute financial products in the primary and secondary markets;

• Financial services reform and other current, pending or future legislation or regulation that could have a negative effect on our revenue and businesses;

• Environmental risks, such as physical or transition risks associated with climate change, and social and governance risks, that could adversely affect our reputation, operations, business, and customers;

• A failure in or breach of our compliance with laws, as well as operational or security systems or infrastructure, or those of our third-party vendors or other service providers, including as a result of cyber-attacks; and

• Management’s ability to identify and manage these and other risks.

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 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 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. Our products and services are offered through more than 1,100 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia and 105 retail and commercial non-branch offices, though certain lines of business serve national markets. At December 31, 2023, we had total assets of $222.0 billion, total deposits of $177.3 billion and total stockholders’ equity of $24.3 billion.

We are a BHC incorporated under Delaware state law in 1984 and our primary federal regulator is the FRB. CBNA is our banking subsidiary, whose primary federal regulator is the OCC.

Business Segments

We manage our business through two primary business segments: Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking. Our activities outside these segments are classified as Non-Core or Other. Non-Core includes our indirect auto and certain purchased consumer loan portfolios that we discontinued the origination of as part of our recently announced balance sheet optimization strategy. Other includes treasury activities, wholesale funding, the securities portfolio, community development assets, and other unallocated assets, liabilities, capital, revenues, provision (benefit) for credit losses and expenses, including income tax expense. For additional information regarding our business segments see the “Business Operating Segments” section of Item 7 and Note 26 in Item 8.

Consumer Banking Segment

Consumer Banking serves consumer customers and small businesses with annual revenues of up to $25 million, with products and services that include deposits, mortgage and home equity lending, credit cards, small business loans, wealth management and investment services largely across our 14-state traditional banking footprint. We also offer education and point-of-sale finance loans in addition to select digital deposit products nationwide. Citizens Private Bank, launched during 2023, integrates wealth management and banking services to serve high net-worth individuals and families, as well as businesses.

Consumer Banking operates a multi-channel distribution network with a workforce of approximately 5,300 branch colleagues, approximately 1,100 branches, including 187 in-store locations, and approximately 3,200 ATMs. Our network includes approximately 1,100 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.

Commercial Banking Segment

Commercial Banking primarily serves companies and institutions with annual revenues of $25 million to more than $3.0 billion and strives to be a trusted advisor to our clients 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 syndicated loans, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities.

Commercial Banking is organized around client segments and their banking needs. Corporate Banking, Commercial Real Estate, Capital Markets and Advisory, and Treasury Solutions work together to understand client needs and provide comprehensive solutions to meet those needs. We acquire new clients through a coordinated approach to the market, leveraging deep industry knowledge in specialized banking groups and a geographic coverage model.

Corporate Banking serves commercial and industrial clients with annual gross revenues of $25 million to $500 million, and corporate clients with annual revenues of $500 million to more than $3.0 billion in the United States. In several areas, such as Aerospace, Defense and Government Services, Communications, Transportation and Logistics, Food and Restaurants, Human Capital Management, and Gaming we offer a more dedicated and tailored approach to better meet the unique needs of these client segments.

Commercial Real Estate provides customized debt capital solutions for middle-market operators, institutional developers, investors, and REITs. Commercial Real Estate provides financing for projects primarily in the multi-family, office, industrial, retail, healthcare and hospitality sectors.

Capital Markets and Advisory serves clients through key product groups including Corporate Finance, Capital Markets, and Global Markets. Corporate Finance provides advisory services to middle-market and mid-corporate clients, including mergers and acquisitions and capital structure advice. The team works closely with industry-sector specialists within capital markets to advise our clients. Corporate Finance also provides acquisition and follow-on financing for new and recapitalized portfolio companies of key sponsors, with services meeting the unique and time-sensitive needs of private equity firms, management companies and funds, and underwriting and portfolio management expertise for leveraged transactions and relationships. Capital Markets originates, structures and underwrites credit and equity facilities targeting middle-market, mid-corporate and private equity sponsors. They focus on offering value-added ideas to optimize their capital structures, including advising on and facilitating mergers and acquisitions, valuations, tender offers, financial restructurings, bond and equity underwriting, asset sales, divestitures and other corporate reorganizations and business combinations. Capital Markets also provides sales and trading across loan, fixed income and equity products, as well as other brokerage services including equity research. Global Markets provides foreign exchange, interest rate and commodities risk management services.

The Treasury Solutions product group supports Commercial Banking and certain small business clients with treasury management solutions, including domestic and international products and services related to receivables, payables, information reporting and liquidity management, as well as commercial credit cards and trade finance.

Business Strategy

Our mission is to help our customers, colleagues and communities reach their potential, and our vision is to become a top-performing bank distinguished by our customer-centric culture, mindset of continuous improvement, product innovation, and excellent capabilities. We strive to understand customer and client needs, so we can tailor advice and solutions to help make them more successful. Our business strategy is designed to maximize the full potential of our businesses, drive sustainable growth and enhance profitability. Our success rests on our ability to distinguish ourselves as follows:

Maintain a high-performing, customer-centric organization: We continually strive to enhance our “customer-first” culture by emphasizing the “voice of the customer” to deliver the best possible banking experience. We seek to deepen relationships with our customers by offering a full suite of products designed to meet their unique needs. In addition, we are taking talent management to the next level, with a goal of attracting, developing and retaining great people, while ensuring strong leadership, teamwork, and a sense of empowerment, accountability and urgency.

*Develop differentiated value propositions to acquire, deepen, and retain core customer segm

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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 a financial services organization, certain elements of risk are inherent in our transactions and operations and the business decisions we make. Therefore, we encounter risk as part of the normal course of our business and design a risk management framework and associated 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 risk taking with revenue generation and profitability. We discuss the primary risks we face and our risk management framework and associated processes and strategies in the “Risk Governance” section in Item 7.

You should carefully consider the following risk factors that may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Other factors that could affect us are discussed in the “Forward-Looking Statements” section above. However, there may be additional risks that are not currently 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 adversely affect us. Therefore, the risks described in the risk factors below should not be considered a complete list of risks that we may encounter.

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, with our success resting on our ability to distinguish ourselves. Our future success and the value of our stock depends, in part, on our ability to effectively implement our business strategy, including the cost savings and efficiency components, and achieve our financial performance goals, including the anticipated benefits of the Private Bank start-up investment and Investors acquisition. 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 not 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 regulators, as well as the CFPB. As part of the supervisory and examination process, if we are unsuccessful in meeting the 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.

Difficult economic conditions, including inflationary pressures, would likely have an adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.

From March 2022 to July 2023, the FRB raised its benchmark interest rate eleven times in response to inflationary pressures throughout the economy. Financial markets remain volatile amidst the uncertainty of economic conditions, including potential recessionary conditions. Changes in interest rates can affect numerous aspects of our business and may impact our future performance. Also, see “Changes in interest rates may have an adverse effect on our profitability” below for more information on the risks associated with changes in interest rates.

Prolonged periods of inflation may impact our profitability by negatively impacting our costs and expenses, including increasing funding costs and expense related to talent acquisition and retention, and negatively impacting consumer demand and client purchasing power for our products and services. If significant inflation continues, our business could be negatively affected by, among other things, increased default rates leading to credit losses which could adversely impact our earnings and capital.

Any of the effects of these adverse economic conditions would likely have an adverse impact on our earnings, with the significance of the impact generally depending on the nature and severity of the economic conditions.

Our ability to meet our obligations, and the cost of funds to do so, depend on our ability to access identified sources of liquidity at a reasonable cost.

Liquidity risk is the risk arising from the inability to meet our obligations when they come due. We must maintain adequate funding to meet current and future obligations, including customer loan requests, customer deposit maturities and withdrawals, debt service, equipment and premises leases, and other cash commitments, under both normal operating conditions and under periods of company-specific and/or market stress.

We primarily rely on customer deposits to be a relatively stable and low-cost source of funding. In addition to customer deposits, our funding sources also include our ability to securitize loans in secondary markets, raise funds in the debt and equity capital markets, pledge loans and/or securities for borrowing from the FHLB, pledge securities as collateral for borrowing under repurchase agreements, and sell AFS securities.

Our ability to meet our obligations and support our operations could be materially affected by a variety of conditions, including market-wide illiquidity or disruption, a loss of market or customer confidence in the financial services industry generally or in the Company specifically, or reductions in one or more of our credit ratings. This could limit our ability to retain our deposits, securitize or sell assets, access the debt or equity capital markets, or otherwise borrow money at a reasonable cost. Additionally, these conditions, among others, if severe enough, could create unanticipated material outflows of cash due to, among other factors, draws on unfunded commitments or deposit attrition, which could have significant adverse impact on our liquidity. Further, changes to the FHLB’s or the FRB’s underwriting guidelines for wholesale borrowings or lending policies may limit or restrict our ability to borrow, and therefore could have a significant adverse impact on our liquidity.

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

Changes in interest rates can have a material impact on the value of our securities, a primary objective of which is to provide a ready source of contingent liquidity. An increase in rates could lower the collateral value of these securities, reducing the amount we could borrow, and lead to losses in the event of their sale.

Since our earning assets are primarily in the form of loans and debt securities, changes in interest rates can have

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None.

Risk Management and Strategy

The Company’s Cybersecurity Program (“CSP”) drives an end-to-end, continuous process that protects our customers, colleagues, assets, premises, systems, and information (electronic and non-electronic), and is designed to ensure compliance with current and emerging federal and state laws and regulations. The CSP is designed to ensure the effective implementation of the Corporate Security and Resilience Operating Model across all business lines of the Company and is under the supervision of the Chief Security Officer (“CSO”).

Non-Financial Risk Management coordinates the development, maintenance, and day-to-day oversight of the Company’s Enterprise Risk Management Governance Framework (“the Framework”), which defines an integrated enterprise-wide approach to risk management. This centrally managed program is designed to ensure that all business lines play a role in the successful implementation of the CSP. The CSP aligns with the Framework, enabling the CSO to provide risk oversight to and drive accountability from the business lines.

The CSP is designed to assess and mitigate threats and risks to the Company. New and emerging threats are assessed through an intelligence lifecycle, which includes threat modeling. In addition, risk assessment processes drive risk identification and measurement related to security. Once risks are identified and measured, the Framework is leveraged to track and mitigate them. Control testing is utilized to demonstrate that risks are managed effectively, identify gaps in expected control operation, and develop appropriate remediation plans, in order to manage risk to the Company within tolerable limits.

As part of the Company’s Third Party Risk Management Program and in support of the CSP, reviews for cybersecurity, business continuity, fraud, and other policy-related topics are performed for the onboarding of new vendors and ongoing monitoring of existing vendors. Ratings assigned to a vendor determine review frequency and scope. Results are reported to key stakeholders and identified issues are tracked and monitored.

The Company regularly reviews the nature of its business activities and modifies the CSP as appropriate. Many of the elements of the CSP are cyber defense related and are in place to reduce our risk to a wide range of potential cyber threats that may target our assets and information daily. The effectiveness of the CSP is assessed and measured periodically by various lines of defense within the Company and is conducted primarily through risk assessments, assurance testing, and an independent audit. External organizations are also routinely engaged to assess our CSP and test our perimeter defenses. The effectiveness of the CSP is reported periodically to the appropriate governance committees.

Governance

Under the guidance of our CSO, we maintain a comprehensive CSP designed to protect our employees, customers, assets, premises, systems, and information against unauthorized access, misuse, alteration, or destruction that could result in substantial harm or inconvenience to our customers, and loss or reputational damage. The CSP incorporates all of our security policies and covers the core elements of access control, infrastructure security, cybersecurity event and incident management, data protection, third-party vendor cyber risk oversight, payment security, and training and awareness. Independent assessment and benchmarking of the CSP are regularly completed, and the CSP is reviewed and assessed by federal regulators. While we look to numerous frameworks to ensure the CSP is maintained in line with regulatory expectations and industry best practices, the National Institute of Standards and Technology cybersecurity framework is the primary standard against which we benchmark ourselves.

Both the Risk and Audit Committees have oversight of the management of our cybersecurity risk. The Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing the CSP under its risk oversight responsibilities as it relates to financial controls. The Risk Committee is responsible for oversight of the management of cybersecurity risk consistent with the Framework.

The CSP is presented by the CSO to the Risk Committee annually for approval in conjunction with an annual cybersecurity briefing. This briefing provides an overall assessment of the effectiveness of the CSP and an outlook for the upcoming year. In addition to the annual cybersecurity briefing, the CSO provides updates on cybersecurity to the Risk Committee at each of its meetings. The Audit Committee and Board also receive regular cybersecurity updates as part of the reporting provided by the Technology/Cyber Oversight Committee, a management committee chaired by the CEO which provides executive oversight, guidance and transparency to key transformative initiatives designed to enhance our technology stability, cyber defenses and risk management capabilities. Further, to ensure the Board maintains the appropriate knowledge for providing effective oversight, it is provided with relevant cybersecurity training on an annual basis, with any additional training provided as requested.

We lease five operations centers in Boston, Medford, and Westwood, Massachusetts; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Glen Allen, Virginia. We own two principal operations centers in Johnston and East Providence, Rhode Island. At December 31, 2023, our subsidiaries owned and operated a total of 60 facilities and leased an additional 1,193 facilities. We believe our current facilities are adequate to meet our needs. See Note 7 and Note 9 in Item 8 for more information regarding our premises and equipment, and leases, respectively.

Information required by this item is presented in Note 19 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 1, 2024, our common stock was owned by 7,086 holders of record (including Cede & Co.) and approximately 445,000 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, 2023 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 centers, regional banks and thrifts; and a group of other banks that constitute our peer regional banks. The graph assumes a $100 investment at the closing price on December 31, 2018 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 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.

Issuer Purchase of Equity Securities

Details of the repurchases of the Company’s common stock during the three months ended December 31, 2023 are included below:

(1) Reflects shares repurchased to satisfy applicable tax withholding obligations in connection with an employee share-based compensation plan and the forfeiture of unvested restricted stock awards.

(2) On February 17, 2023, the Company announced that its Board of Directors increased the capacity under its common share repurchase program by an additional $1.15 billion, which was incremental to the $850 million of capacity remaining as of December 31, 2022 under the prior June 2022 authorization.

Common stock share 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 future share 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.

Not applicable.

INTRODUCTION

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $222.0 billion in assets as of December 31, 2023. 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. We help our 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, we provide an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a full-service customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,200 ATMs and more than 1,100 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, 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 syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. 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 Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, as well as other information contained in this document.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This document contains non-GAAP financial measures denoted as “Underlying” results and “including AOCI impact.” 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 in that period and, accordingly, are useful to consider in addition to our GAAP financial results. We further believe the presentation of Underlying results increases comparability of period-to-period results.

Other companies may use similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures that may be calculated differently from the way we calculate such measures. Accordingly, our non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similar measures used by such companies. We caution investors not to place undue reliance on such non-GAAP financial measures, but to consider them with the most directly comparable GAAP measures. Non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for our results reported under GAAP.

Non-GAAP measures are denoted throughout our MD&A by the use of the term “Underlying.” Where there is a reference to these metrics in that paragraph, all measures that follow are on the same basis when applicable. For more information on the computation of non-GAAP financial measures, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Reconciliations.”

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

Key Highlights

Net income decreased $465 million, with earnings per diluted common share down $0.97 to $3.13 compared to 2022.

Results reflect notable items of $357 million or $0.75 per diluted common share, net of tax benefit, compared to $352 million or $0.74 per diluted common share, net of tax benefit, in 2022.

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Quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk are presented in the “Market Risk” section of Part II, Item 7 and 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, 2023 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, 2023, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective.

The Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023 has been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their accompanying report appearing on page 83, which expresses an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

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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 Rules 13a-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, the Company’s 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.

Not applicable.

PART III

In Part III of this Report we refer to relevant sections of our 2024 Proxy Statement for the 2024 annual meeting of shareholders, which will be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days of the close of our 2023 fiscal year. Portions of our 2024 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” — “Director Nominees” and “Board Structure and Oversight Responsibilities” — “Corporate Governance Guidelines”, “Committees of the Board”, “Code of Business Conduct and Ethics” and “Other Items” - “Delinquent Section 16(a) Reporting” of our 2024 Proxy Statement, which is incorporated by reference into this item.

Information required by this item is presented under the captions “Executive Compensation Matters” — “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” “Compensation and HR Committee Report”, “Executive Compensation Tables”, “Termination of Employment and Change of Control”, “Role of Risk Management in Compensation”, “Dodd Frank Compensation Disclosure” — “CEO Pay Ratio” and “Pay Versus Performance”, and “Corporate Governance Matters” - “Director Compensation” of our 2024 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 “Other Items” - “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” in our 2024 Proxy Statement, which is incorporated by reference into this item.

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 18 in Item 8.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

At December 31, 2023

(1) Excludes securities subject to the Investors Bancorp, Inc. 2006 Equity Incentive Plan and the Investors Bancorp, Inc. 2015 Equity Incentive Plan (“Investors Plans”). Although equity-based awards granted under the Investors Plans were converted into CFG awards and assumed in connection with the Investors acquisition in 2022, CFG does not intend to grant any awards under the Investors Plans. As of December 31, 2023, 393,426 stock options with a weighted-average exercise price of $38.35 and 18,509 restricted shares were outstanding under the Investors Plans.

(2) Excludes securities subject to the JMP Group LLC Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan (“JMP Plan”). Although equity-based awards granted under the JMP Plan were converted into CFG awards and assumed in connection with the JMP acquisition in 2021, CFG does not intend to grant any awards under the JMP Plan. As of December 31, 2023, 214,601 stock options with a weighted-average exercise price of $19.45 and 5,663 restricted stock units were outstanding under the JMP Plan.

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

(4) Other than the stock options assumed in connection with the JMP and Investors acquisitions, CFG had no outstanding stock options.

(5) Represents the number of shares remaining available for future issuance under the Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan (39,532,535 shares), the Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (2,991,009 shares), and the Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Non-Employee Directors Compensation Plan (1,217,822 shares).

Information required by this item is set forth under the captions “Corporate Governance Matters” — “Board Governance and Oversight” — “Director Nominees” - “Director Independence” and “Related Person Transactions” of our 2024 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 2024 Proxy Statement, which is incorporated by reference into this item.

PART IV

(a)(1) Financial Statements

The following report of our independent registered public accounting firm and the consolidated financial statements of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. are included in Item 8 of this Form 10-K:

• Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on the Consolidated Financial Statements;

• Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022;

• Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021;

• Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the Years Ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021;

• Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity for the Years Ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021;

• Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021; and

• Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

(a)(2) Financial Statement Schedules

All required financial statement schedules for the Registrant are included in the audited Consolidated Financial Statements or related footnotes in Item 8.

(a)(3) Exhibits

2.1 Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated July 28, 2021, by and between Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and Investors Bancorp, Inc. (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 2.1 of the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed July 30, 2021)

3.1 Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant as in effect on the date hereof, as filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware and effective April 28, 2022 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed April 29, 2022)

3.2 Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant (as amended and restated on February 16, 2023) (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.2 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 17, 2023)

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

4.4 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)

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

4.6 Description of the Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Act of 1934*

4.7 Agreement to furnish to the SEC 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†*

10.5 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)†

10.6 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan Form of Performance Stock Unit Award Agreement†*

10.7 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)†

10.8 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)†

10.9 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)†

10.10 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Non-Employee Directors Compensation Policy, amended and effective April 22, 2021 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed August 3, 2021)†

10.11 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Non-Employee Directors Compensation Policy, amended and effective April 28, 2022 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed August 3, 2022)†

10.12 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Non-Employee Directors Compensation Policy, amended and effective April 27, 2023 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed August 8, 2023)†

10.13 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)†

10.14 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)†

10.15 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)†

10.16 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)†

10.17 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)†

10.18 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)†

10.19 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)†

10.20 First Amendment to the CFG Voluntary Executive Deferred Compensation Plan dated March 1, 2019 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.26 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 24, 2020)†

10.21 Second Amendment to the CFG Voluntary Executive Deferred Compensation Plan dated December 9, 2019 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.27 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 24, 2020)†

10.22 Third Amendment to the CFG Voluntary Executive Deferred Compensation Plan dated March 4, 2020 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.27 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 23, 2021)†

10.23 Fourth Amendment to the CFG Voluntary Executive Deferred Compensation Plan dated January 1, 2022 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.21 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 23, 2022)†

10.24 Fifth Amendment to the CFG Voluntary Executive Deferred Compensation Plan dated January 1, 2024†*

10.25 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)†

10.26 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Form of Deferred Cash Award Agreement†*

10.27 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)†

10.28 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 10-Q, filed May 9, 2016)†

10.29 Addendum to Amended and Restated Executive Employment Agreement, dated as of June 25, 2021 between the Registrant and Bruce Van Saun (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed August 3, 2021)†

10.30 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)†

10.31 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 21, 2019)†

10.32 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)†

10.33 Amended and Restated Executive Employment Agreement, dated December 20, 2021, between the Registrant and Brendan Coughlin (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.32 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 23, 2022)†

10.34 Investors Bancorp, Inc. 2015 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.3 of the Registration Statement on Form S-8, filed April 7, 2022)†

10.35 Investors Bancorp, Inc. 2015 Equity Incentive Plan Form of Stock Option Agreement (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.35 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed February 17, 2023)†

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*

97.1 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Clawback Policy, effective December 1, 2023*

101 The following materials from the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, formatted in XBRL: (i) the Consolidated Balance Sheets, (ii) the Consolidated Statements of Operations, (iii) the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income, (iv) the Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity, (v) the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows and (vi) the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements*

104 Cover page interactive data file in inline XBRL format, included in Exhibit 101 to this report*

† Indicates management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

• Filed herewith.

Not applicable.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of 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 16, 2024.

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, Polly N. Klane, 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, 2023 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.