Citizens Private Bank outgrows First Republic's shadow

• Supporting data: Citizens Private Bank now has 14 offices in five states, and is planning to open six more in 2027.
• Expert quote: "We had an eye towards, 'Which cities are important to us where First Republic really didn't play?'" — Citizens CEO Bruce Van Saun

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When Citizens Financial Group started its private bank in 2023, part of the strategy was to fill a void left by the recently collapsed First Republic Bank. Now it's rapidly growing beyond First Republic's old footprint.

Today Citizens Private Bank, which caters to high-net-worth clients, has 14 offices spread across California, Florida, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania. And in 2027, Citizens said Friday, it plans to open up six new locations.

"Our brand is continuing to scale in the markets that we're in, both in terms of visibility but also the number of boots on the ground," Brendan Coughlin, Citizens' president, said Friday during the bank's third-quarter earnings call. "We expect that to continue."

Next year, Citizens said, the private bank will arrive in Wellesley, Massachusetts; Boca Raton, Florida; Greenwich, Connecticut: and three California cities: Beverly Hills, Manhattan Beach and Walnut Creek.

Just in the most recent quarter, Citizens opened two new private-bank offices: one in Tampa, Florida, and another in Philadelphia.

That last location has special significance. In 2023, Citizens staffed its private bank largely by poaching many of the newly defunct First Republic's former employees, after the failed bank's remains were gobbled up by JPMorganChase. But First Republic never had a branch in Philly.

"We had an eye towards, 'Which cities are important to us where First Republic really didn't play?' And one of those cities was Philadelphia," Citizens CEO Bruce Van Saun told American Banker on Friday.

As the private bank spreads across the country, Van Saun said, Citizens' strategy has unfolded in two phases: First, bolster First Republic's old strongholds. And second, go beyond them.

"We prioritized first leveraging the people that came over, and really investing heavily in California and Boston, New York, Florida," Van Saun said. "But we always had an eye on, 'When's the right timing and what's the best approach to get into some of our other important cities?' And Philly was first up on that list."

Aside from its footprint, Citizens has also tried to absorb the strengths of First Republic's strategy.

"There's things that we really valued highly with the First Republic model," Van Saun said. "Their commitment to white-glove service and going the extra mile for their customers was second to none … So we knew that if we could attract those people, then that would become the brand of Citizens Private Bank."

But culturally as well as geographically, Citizens Private Bank is working to go beyond those strengths.

"What I'd say we're doing a little differently is we're certainly disciplined in the financial operating model," Van Saun said. "First Republic would make investments like they had a kind of 'If you build it they will come' mentality. We're a little more disciplined in making sure we have a business plan."

In the third quarter of 2026, Citizens exceeded Wall Street's expectations. Earnings per share reached $1.41, beating analysts' consensus estimate of $1.39, according to S&P.

Net income was $636 million, up 29% from the third quarter of 2025. Total revenue reached $2.3 billion, up 10% year-over-year.

One highlight was the private bank, which rapidly grew its loan book. In the third quarter, loans at Citizens Private Bank rose by $5.7 billion from the same time last year, and $2 billion from the previous quarter — its steepest quarter-to-quarter increase to date.

All in all, Citizens calculated that the private bank added 16 cents to the company's earnings per share.

"We've had three quarters that we reported on this year, and I think they've all been really strong quarters," Van Saun said.