Citizens Bank

Is Citizens Bank safe?

For insured deposits, yes. Citizens Bank, N.A. is an FDIC-insuredDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary bank with about $233 billion of assets and roughly 1,000 branches from New England to the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. Its parent had a CET1CET1 ratioA bank's highest-quality capital (mainly shares and retained profits) as a share of its risk-weighted assets. Higher means more room to absorb losses.More in the glossary capital ratio of 10.4% at 30 June 2026 and reported $89.4 billion of available liquidity, more than its uninsured deposits. We score it 70/100, four points below Truist and eight below PNC. The reasons are a narrow cushion over a high capital requirement, two CFPB cases in a decade and a past inside Royal Bank of Scotland, which the UK government had to rescue in 2008.

What the FDIC covers at Citizens

Every Citizens deposit sits in one bank, Citizens Bank, N.A., FDICDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary certificate 57957. Accounts opened online count toward the same limit as branch accounts. The limit is $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category: individual, joint, retirement and trust accounts each count separately.

Citizens says 62% of its deposits were insured or secured in June 2026. The rest includes business money and balances at its Private Bank, whose growth in 2026 pushed the insured share down from 63% in December.

Capital: a thin buffer over a high bar

The headline ratio looks normal for a US regional bank. The requirement does not. The Federal Reserve's 2024 stress test projected heavy losses for Citizens, giving it a 4.5% stress capital buffer, level with Capital One and among the highest of the US banks on the Fed's list, far above the 2.5% floor that Truist and many others have. That leaves only 1.4 points of room. Because the Fed pushed back its timetable in February 2026, the buffer stays in place until October 2028 unless Citizens chooses to take part in the 2027 test. If Citizens counted unrealised losses on its bonds and pension plan, as a March 2026 proposal would eventually require, its ratio would be 9.2%, barely above the bar.

Falling below the requirement would not put deposits at risk; it would limit dividends and buybacks. But a thin buffer gives less room in a recession, which is why capital is our weakest factor for Citizens. The bank itself, which holds the deposits, is better placed at 11.9% against 7.0%.

Liquidity without a coverage ratio

Citizens is a Category IV bank, so it does not have to meet or publish a liquidity coverage ratioLiquidity coverage ratioA bank's cash and easy-to-sell assets compared with the money that could flow out in a 30-day crisis. It must be at least 100%.More in the glossary. Instead it reports available liquidity: $40.2 billion of high-quality securities, $18.9 billion of unused Federal Home Loan Bank capacity, $11.1 billion of cash at the Fed and $19.2 billion of discount window capacity. Together that exceeds the $70.1 billion of uninsured deposits that are not secured or held by affiliates.

The conduct record

The CFPB sued Citizens in January 2020 over how it handled credit card disputes. It said the bank made customers jump through unnecessary hoops to report fraud, including sworn fraud affidavits, did not always refund all fees on valid claims, and failed to send required notices. In May 2023 Citizens agreed to a $9 million penalty and changes to its practices.

The older case is worse in kind. In August 2015 the CFPB, OCC and FDICDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary found that from 2008 to 2013 Citizens had kept the difference when the money in a deposit was more than the amount written on the slip. It was ordered to refund about $11 million and pay $20.5 million in penalties: $10 million to the OCC, $7.5 million to the CFPB and $3 million to the FDIC. At the time Citizens was also under OCC and FDIC consent orders over the deceptive marketing of checking and funds transfer products.

How to keep your money safe at Citizens

1. Count all your Citizens accounts, online and branch, together and keep each ownership category under $250,000.
2. For larger sums, split money between ownership categories or add a second insured bank.
3. If you dispute a credit card charge, put it in writing and keep a copy. Since the 2023 order, Citizens may not require a sworn affidavit for a card fraud claim.
4. Treat calls or texts asking you to move money to a "safe account" as fraud, and call the number on your card.

How we scored it

Deposit protectionDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary (85) is the strongest factor, backed by FDIC cover and A-range deposit ratings. Stability history (60) and capital (62) are the weakest: Citizens was part of RBS when the UK rescued it, and today its capital sits only 1.4 points over a requirement inflated by stress-test losses. Conduct (66) reflects CFPB penalties in 2015 and 2023.