Citizens Financial Group Inc at Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Ryan M. Nash - Goldman Sachs International - Analyst : We won't talk about football today, Give us a state of our team. But maybe just to kick it off. It's been a busy year for the bank. Lots of different initiatives going on. I talked about success of the Private Bank, Metro New York private capital, and more recently, which we'll get into reimagining the bank. Maybe just talk about the bank strategy and how you feel it's positioned to succeed as we move into 2026.

Question: Ryan M. Nash - Goldman Sachs International - Analyst : Got it. A lot of great stuff in there, and then I'm sure we'll touch on a lot of them. So maybe to dig in a couple of things, Bruce. I guess, as you go out and meet with clients, what does sentiment look like out there and out there on both commercial and corporate side and how is it impacting your thinking into 2026? LSEG STREETEVENTS | www.lseg.com | Contact Us consent of LSEG. 'LSEG' and the LSEG logo are registered trademarks of LSEG and its affiliated companies. DECEMBER 09, 2025 / 3:40PM, CFG.N - Citizens Financial Group Inc at Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference

Question: Ryan M. Nash - Goldman Sachs International - Analyst : Got it. So it sounds like a pretty upbeat outlook into next year. So maybe as we're looking ahead, you've obviously been targeting a 16% to 18% return. Bank posted greater than a 12% return in the most recent quarter. Maybe just talk about the path together from where you are today to that to 16% to 18% over time? What are the key drivers? And how do you get there over the medium term?

Question: Ryan M. Nash - Goldman Sachs International - Analyst : So maybe to dig into some things on the operational side. So loan growth obviously showed signs of improvement. You guys were shrinking for a while. You've had two straight quarters of growth, including three in a row on the commercial side. I guess based on your comments from earlier, I guess, what are your expectations for loan demand on both the commercial and the consumer side? And do you think we can continue to see it improve from here?

Question: Ryan M. Nash - Goldman Sachs International - Analyst : So last quarter, you started talking about reimagining the bank, which will get further details, I believe, in January. And I supposed to deliver run rate benefits of more than $400 million with the benefits in '27 and I guess, accelerating in '28. And you've also talked about minimizing some of the onetime costs and the capital investment upfront. So can you maybe just expand on these thoughts, talk about what the goals initiative is? How do you foresee this making citizens a better bank over time? LSEG STREETEVENTS | www.lseg.com | Contact Us consent of LSEG. 'LSEG' and the LSEG logo are registered trademarks of LSEG and its affiliated companies. DECEMBER 09, 2025 / 3:40PM, CFG.N - Citizens Financial Group Inc at Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference

Question: Ryan M. Nash - Goldman Sachs International - Analyst : And you still feel good about the financial metrics that you teased out. Yes. Awesome. So we talked a little bit about the private bank before, which has obviously been a huge success. You're over 7% accretive. You talked about it doubling over the next few years with 20%-plus returns. Maybe just talk about what has gone well, what are the challenges? And really what's left for you achieving your goals in this business in terms of seeing their earnings double from this?

Question: Ryan M. Nash - Goldman Sachs International - Analyst : And round the add on some of the initiatives, I wanted to talk a little bit about the private capital business. There's been significant growth across loans, capital markets, other things. And I guess, just given the push of private credit, which has obviously been a big focus for the industry, but it feels like you guys are well positioned to capitalize on this trend. So talk about the opportunity set for Citizens, where is your strategy positioning you to win? And what do you foresee as the competitive threat?

Question: Ryan M. Nash - Goldman Sachs International - Analyst : Maybe switching to the near term. We're two months through the quarter, you gave guidance on a handful of items, NII up 2.5% to 3.5%, continued margin expansion, stable fees. you know all the things. Maybe just give us an update on how the quarter is progressing. Any trends that you're seeing in the market? And maybe anything that's better or worse than expected?

Question: Ryan M. Nash - Goldman Sachs International - Analyst : Got you. No, super helpful. Bruce, you brought up the market's focus on NII and the net interest margin. You guys have had a target of 3.25% to 3.5%, that incorporates the Fed funds going below 3%, even maybe as low as 2.5%. So given all the drivers that you've talked about, not to rehash all of them, just talk to us about, one, your confidence in reaching this 3.25% to 3.50%. How much is in the bag? And how would you assess sort of the risk about and opportunities of not only getting there, but where you end up in the range?

Question: Ryan M. Nash - Goldman Sachs International - Analyst : Just sort of building on the discussion regarding deposits. You saw more change in the last rising rate cycle than any other bank relative to the prior. You guys have had tremendous success in bringing down deposit costs as we've kind of moved through this cycle despite better performance on the way up, I would add. So what has changed to drive this success? What are your expectations for the next leg of the cycle? And just given everyone is talking about a lot of competition, how do you balance strong beta with continuing to fund with onto loan growth?

Question: Ryan M. Nash - Goldman Sachs International - Analyst : For many years, Citizens posted industry-leading positive operating leverage. And you've talked about improving operating leverage into next year. You've committed to deliver over the next few years, given improving revenue growth while controlling costs. We recognize we'll get formal guidance in January. But maybe just talk about the key building blocks to improving operating leverage? And how are you thinking about costs as we move into next year?

Question: Ryan M. Nash - Goldman Sachs International - Analyst : Let's shift and talk a little bit about the -- super helpful -- let's shift and talk about capital you're still in a strong capital position, almost 11% reported, mid-9s adjusted. And obviously, we've started to see SCBs coming down across the industry, which I think is something, hopefully, we'll be talking about when we're sitting here next year.

Question: Ryan M. Nash - Goldman Sachs International - Analyst : Absolutely. And maybe just as you look ahead, provide thoughts on capital allocation and how do you think about potentially managing the capital down over time?

Question: Ryan M. Nash - Goldman Sachs International - Analyst : So we're approaching the two-minute warning, which is usually in our football team fumbled the game -- you seem to be on point today. So I'm not worried about that. But maybe just to pick up on the last comment that you made, your message has been pretty consistent in M&A. You haven't been too interested. But given all the success of the firm, the currency has finally started to improve. I'm sure you're going to tell me it's not where it should be. But we've obviously started to see improvement in. I'm just curious, given the improvement -- the activity we're seeing in the sector, more favorable regulatory backdrop, the hazard stance changed at all? And if not, what would cause it to change?

Question: Ryan M. Nash - Goldman Sachs International - Analyst : Anything on credit that you're paying closer attention to? Obviously, losses have been coming down. You've talked about getting back into the 30s over time. What are the areas of focus? And what gets us to that more normal level?

Question: Ryan M. Nash - Goldman Sachs International - Analyst : And I guess we're sort of out of time here, but I guess just as we look forward to '26, any closing thoughts you want to leave us with in terms of how the bank is positioned?