Citizens Launches Green Deposits for Corporate Clients

Rhea-AI Summary

Citizens has launched its Green Deposits program, enabling corporate clients to invest cash reserves in environmentally positive projects. This initiative targets sectors like renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable agriculture. Michael Cummins, executive vice president, emphasized the commitment to socially responsible investments. Citizens aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by up to 50% by 2035. It also supports the renewable energy sector with significant investments in U.S. wind farms, totaling approximately $403 million since 2015.

Positive

• Launch of Green Deposits program allows investment in environmentally beneficial projects.
• Targets set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2025 and 50% by 2035.
• Significant investments in renewable energy sector, including $403 million in U.S. wind farms.

Negative

• None.

Citizens today launched its Green Deposits program to allow corporate clients to direct their cash reserves toward companies and projects that are expected to create a positive environmental impact.

The Green Deposits solution gives clients the opportunity to direct deposits to investments in sectors such as energy efficiency; renewable energy; green transport; sustainable food, agriculture, and forestry; waste management; and greenhouse gas reduction.

“Recognizing the increasing desire among clients for socially responsible investing options, our new Green Deposits solution gives clients a sustainable investment vehicle that aligns with Citizens’ own commitment to help create a healthy and sustainable future for all of our stakeholders,” said Michael Cummins, executive vice president and head of treasury solutions at Citizens. “As a financial institution, Citizens recognizes the critical role that the bank can play to help finance a socially responsible future and continues to explore opportunities to support sustainable development."

Citizens developed its Green Deposits Framework to identify eligible activities within the bank’s portfolio and ensure alignment with best practices and standards. The framework was created in line with eligibility criteria developed with the support of Sustainalytics, a Morningstar company, and leading provider of environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and data.

Citizens is committed to reducing its own operational impact on the environment, understanding and managing the risks and opportunities presented by climate change and resulting regulatory and market changes, and helping our customers plan for and manage climate change impact. To support the renewable energy industry, Citizens provides equity investments through Citizens Asset Finance and has participated in the funding of eight U.S. wind farm projects since mid-2015, with investments totaling approximately $403 million at the end of 2020.

Citizens has also adopted targets to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 30% by 2025 and 50% by 2035, based on its 2016 baseline, to support international goals to limit global temperature rise. These targets align with the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit average global temperature increase to well-below 2° Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels.

Citizens recently released its 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report, Building Tomorrow Together, highlighting enterprise-wide initiatives that advance its commitment to responsible citizenship. The full report is available at: www.citizensbank.com/corporateresponsibility.

To learn more about Citizens Green Deposits, visit CitizensBank.com/GreenDeposits.

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $185.1 billion in assets as of June 30, 2021. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a 24/7 customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,000 ATMs and approximately 1,000 branches in 11 states in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210721005251/en/

FAQ

What is the Citizens Green Deposits program?

The Citizens Green Deposits program allows corporate clients to invest in projects that have a positive environmental impact, focusing on sectors such as renewable energy and sustainable agriculture.

What are the greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets set by Citizens?

Citizens aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2025 and 50% by 2035, based on 2016 levels.

How much has Citizens invested in renewable energy projects?

Citizens has invested approximately $403 million in eight U.S. wind farm projects since mid-2015.

What sectors can clients invest in through the Green Deposits program?

Clients can invest in sectors like energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, waste management, and greenhouse gas reduction.