Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CFG or the “Company”) today announces key aspects of its 2022 Capital Plan (the “Plan”), which includes increasing the Company’s common share repurchase authorization to $1.0 billion.
The Company’s announcement follows publication on June 23, 2022 by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”) of the results from its DFAST stress tests and communication to Citizens of its preliminary Stress Capital Buffer (“SCB”) of 3.4%, effective October 1, 2022. Citizens has concluded that its proposed capital distributions under the Plan would be consistent with this preliminary SCB requirement over the relevant quarters.
Specifically, Citizens today announces that its Board of Directors increased the authorization of common share repurchases to $1.0 billion, which is an increase of $545 million above the $455 million of capacity remaining under the prior $750 million January 2021 authorization. Furthermore, Citizens’ Board of Directors will consider an increase in the Company’s quarterly common stock dividend for the third quarter of 2022.
“We are pleased that the Federal Reserve’s stress test results illustrate Citizens’ strong capital position and the resilience of our balance sheet and business model,” said John F. Woods, Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer.
The Company will assess potential changes to its capital distributions over the planning horizon as conditions warrant. Citizens’ common stock repurchases may be executed in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, including under Rule 10b5-1 plans and accelerated share repurchase and other structured transactions. Common stock dividends are subject to consideration and approval by Citizens’ Board of Directors. The timing and exact amount of common share repurchases and common stock dividends will be subject to various factors, including the company’s capital position, financial performance, capital impacts of strategic initiatives, market conditions, receipt of required regulatory approvals and other regulatory considerations.