Citizens added $5.1 billion to its borrowed funds between December and June, taking the balance to $16.3 billion. Deposits also grew, reaching $185.6 billion, with the company attributing that increase to its Private Bank. The balance sheet is getting busier at the same time profits are climbing.
The headline is straightforward: revenue rose 12.1% to $2.3 billion, while net income increased 34.6% to $587 million. Diluted EPS rose even faster, up 41.3% to $1.30, helped by a 2.3% reduction in diluted shares. An earnings period marked by broad increases, then, though not every part of the business supplied the same kind of momentum.
Citizens says the fee businesses were a notable part of the change in noninterest income. Capital-markets fees rose with higher M&A, loan-syndication, and bond-underwriting fees, while wealth fees benefited from asset growth, net inflows, and market appreciation. Mortgage banking went the other way, as MSR valuation results, net of hedge impact, declined.
The company lays out that split plainly:
"The primary drivers for the change in noninterest income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, compared to the same periods in 2025, are described below: Capital markets fees increased driven by higher M&A, loan syndication, and bond underwriting fees during the three- and six-month periods, with higher equity underwriting fees also a driver during the six-month period; Wealth fees increased primarily driven by growth in assets under management, reflecting net inflows and market appreciation; and Mortgage banking fees decreased primarily driven by lower MSR valuation results, net of hedge impact."
10-Q, August 3, 2026
That mix matters because the period's earnings growth is not just a larger lending spread showing up everywhere. Citizens itself says net interest income depends on the pricing and mix of earning assets and funding, plus competition for loans and deposits, monetary policy, and market rates. Borrowing more gives that funding mix another number to track.
Costs rose alongside the expansion. Noninterest expense reached $1.4 billion, up $75 million from the comparable period, with Citizens citing hiring for the Private Bank and Private Wealth build-out and compensation tied to higher capital-markets fees.
"Noninterest expense of $1.4 billion and $2.8 billion for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, respectively, increased $75 million and $139 million compared to the same periods in 2025, driven by salaries and employee benefits reflecting hiring related to the Private Bank and Private Wealth build-out, and compensation associated with growth in capital markets fees."
10-Q, August 3, 2026
The result was a net margin of 25.7%, up from 21.4% a year earlier. The company’s annual results provide a useful backdrop: revenue was $1.6 billion in 2025, up 6.7%, after growing 21.1% in 2024. The latest reported period is running faster than that recent annual pace, but it is also carrying a larger operating footprint and market-sensitive fee activity.
At the latest close, Citizens shares were $71.63, little changed on July 31. The unresolved detail is not whether earnings grew. It is how much of the next comparison comes from the fee cycle, how much from the expanding private-bank operation, and how the funding mix evolves alongside it. Citizens’ next quarterly report can put that question against the $1.4 billion noninterest-expense figure reported for the latest three-month period.
Citizens reported $1.4 billion in noninterest expense for the three months ended June 30, 2026, according to its August 3 10-Q.