RBS ownership
In 1988, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group acquired Citizens.[10] Under RBS ownership, Citizens acquired several smaller banks in New England to become the second largest bank in the region. In 1996, in conjunction with the acquisition of First NH Bank, the Bank of Ireland gained a 23.5% stake in Citizens, which RBS then acquired two years later to resume 100% ownership.
In 1999, Citizens acquired the United States Trust Company of Boston and the retail banking business of State Street Corporation, significantly increasing its footprint in Massachusetts.[11]
Expansion outside New England began in 2001, when RBS purchased the retail banking division of Mellon Financial Corporation in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware for $2 billion. At one stroke, Citizens Bank became the second-largest bank in Pennsylvania, and a major bank in both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.[12]
On January 17, 2003, Citizens Financial Group purchased Commonwealth Bancorp, the holding company for Commonwealth Bank, based in Norristown, Pennsylvania.[13] In July 2003, the bank purchased the naming rights to the new home stadium of the Philadelphia Phillies professional baseball team, which was named Citizens Bank Park and opened on April 3, 2004.[14]
In 2004, RBS purchased the credit card division of Connecticut-based People's Bank.[15][16] This purchase allowed Citizens to issue and market its own credit cards.
A new corporate logo designed to show Citizens Bank's connection to the Royal Bank of Scotland debuted on April 26, 2005.
In July 2006, Citizens Bank eliminated the mortgage department in Michigan and terminated over 100 employees.
On September 1, 2007, the individual banks under Citizens Financial Group, excluding Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania, merged into RBS Citizens, N.A.[17]
In October 2015, RBS sold its remaining stake in Citizens Financial Group, having progressively reduced its stake through an initial public offering (IPO) started in 2014.[18]
