Citizens Financial Group Inc is an American bank headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. It operates in the following states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Citizens is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland which is headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Citizens was first established in 1828 as the High Street Bank in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1871, the Rhode Island legislature gave a second charter to establish the Citizens Savings Bank which eventually acquired its parent group to form Citizens Trust Company. The bank then expanded through Rhode Island, oepning a total of 29 branches in that state. Citizens Financial Group was extablished as a holding company when the bank acquired The Greenville Trust Company in 1954.

In 1985, Citizens changed status from a mutal savings bank to a fedral stock savings bank. Expansion into other states began with Massachusetts in 1986. In 1988, Citzens agreed a takeover from the Scottish based bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland. Citzens was used by the Royal Bank of Scotland as a stepping stone into the American market. In the next 16 years under the Royal Bank, Citzens acquired several smaller banks in the New England area to become the second largest bank in the region. In 1996, the acquisition of First NH Bank, saw the Bank of Ireland gain a 23.5% stake in Citizens. This was repurchased by the Royal Bank of Scotland in 1998.

In 2004, the Royal Bank of Scotland made a $41 billion takeover bid for Charter One Bank of Cleveland. The bank would be merged with Citzens, making the enlarged group one of the top 10 banks in the United States with over $128 billion in assets and 1,400 branches across 13 states. This will make Citizens Financial Group contribute 25% to the Royal Bank of Scotland's profits.