Total loans grew 4.2 percent to $109 billion on Dec. 31, from the year-earlier total of $104.6 billion, as growth in home equity loans and corporate/commercial lending more than offset slight declines in mortages and other consumer loans.
Deposits edged up 0.5 percent to $106.8 billion on Dec. 31, from $106.3 billion a year earlier.
But net interest income shrank slightly to $3.84 billion, from 2005’s $3.86 billion, as growth in loans and deposits was more than offset by a lower net interest margin. Citizens’ net interest margin shrank to 2.72 percent from 3 percent the year before, as customers migrated to higher-rate accounts.
Non-interest income rose 9 percent to $2.27 billion, boosted by gains in foreign exchange, interest-rate derivatives, cash management and debit cards.
Total expenses grew 1 percent, despite the company’s investments in mid-corporate banking, contactless debit cards, merchant acquisition and supermarket banking.
Total assets amounted to $162.2 billion on Dec. 31, 2.3 percent more than the $158.8 billion total a year earlier.
“This was our 14th consecutive year of profit growth,” Lawrence K. Fish, chairman and CEO of Citizens Financial Group, said in a statement today. “We are particularly pleased with … our lending and deposit businesses, despite continued interest-rate margin pressure that is impacting the entire banking industry.”
(The company’s earnings – as reported by its parent company, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc – are based on international reporting standards and reflect Citizens’ pre-tax operating profit.)
In other highlights, Fish said, the company “extended our supermarket franchise into New York, through our partnership with Stop & Shop Supermarkets, and …. [acquired] GreatBank Inc., strengthening our position in Chicago and making us the fourth-largest bank in that market.”
Citizens Financial Group Inc. is a bank holding company with more than 1,600 branches and about 3,100 ATMs in 13 states and non-branch offices in about 40 states, employing more than 26,000. It is owned by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc. Additional information is available at www.citizensbank.com.
