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Citizens Bank offers many of the traditional mortgage loan products you’d expect from a retail bank, and nice incentives, such as a home loan rewards program and an interest rate discount for banking customers. But its focus appears to be conventional loans, providing very little information and no tools or perks for other loan types, such as government-backed mortgages.
Loan types | Conventional, Jumbo, FHA, VA, USDA, Refinance |
---|---|
Other fees | Origination fee that includes a processing fee and underwriting fee. |
Available States | Only available in: CT, DE, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VT |
NMLS | 433960 |
Citizens lists only its conventional loans online, so you must contact a rep if you’re interested in a jumbo loan or government-backed loan.
Citizens offers a 15- or 30-year fixed-rate loan and a fully amortizing adjustable rate mortgage.
If you’re a first-time homeowner or have a low credit score, you may qualify for this government-backed loan.
Retired and active-duty military personnel and their spouses are eligible for this loan that offers a lower interest rate, lower down payment and fewer closing costs than traditional loans.
If you’re purchasing in a rural area, you may qualify for a $0-down loan backed by the USDA.
If the cost of your home is higher than 2020’s conforming home limit of $484,350 to $510,400, a fixed- or adjustable-rate jumbo loan can help.
Citizens offers loans that can help you build, refinance or borrow against the equity in your home:
Citizens Bank charges an origination fee that includes a processing fee and underwriting fee. The bank’s site includes a calculator that can help you estimate your costs based on your mortgage details, including the origination fee, plus fees for appraisals, credit reports and titles as well as estimated taxes for a full picture of what your payment might be.
Citizens offers a rewards program for those buying or selling a home. Sign up to be matched with a real estate agent and mortgage loan officer and, once the sale is complete, you may be able to get back $350 to $6,500, depending on the price of your loan.
You do not need to be an existing Citizens Bank customer to use this program, but the cashback reward is not available in Alaska, Iowa, Louisiana and Missouri due to state laws. The reward may come in the form of a gift card or reduction of real estate agent fees in other states, depending on what local laws allow.
Borrowers with FHA or VA loans aren’t eligible for the program. And you must use the real estate agent assigned to you through Home Rewards to earn the cash back.
Citizens Bank does not advertise its loan requirements online, claiming instead that eligibility standards, such as credit scores, change often. To make sure you’re eligible, you must speak to a bank loan expert.
Expect to provide personal and financial documents to apply and throughout the homebuying process, including:
Start by completing the prequalification questionnaire online, which assigns you a licensed loan officer as part of the process. After completing the prequalification steps, you can upload your documentation for review by Citizen’s loan team.
Citizens Bank is the 13th-largest retail bank in North America with over $1 billion in assets on its own. With almost 150 years in business, parent company Citizens Financial Group has over $176 billion in assets.
The bank supports 1,000 bank branches in 11 states:
Citizens One is the online-only banking division under the Citizens Financial Group, offering banking services to customers outside the areas covered by Citizens Bank, which is the retail division. The divisions seem to share a customer service phone center, which answers as Citizens One, but have separate websites. If the Citizens Bank website detects you live outside its service area, it redirects you to the Citizens One site and doesn’t allow you to use the Citizens Bank online quote tool or walk through the application process.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit against Citizens Bank in January 2020 that claims the bank violated the Truth in Lending Act for failing to properly deal with billing errors and unauthorized use of customer credit cards. The CFPB is asking for an injunction and financial penalties as a result. The bank is challenging the claims.
Review by
Heather Petty is a writer at Finder specializing in banking, investments and insurance. She's a self-proclaimed word nerd who worked as a technical writer and editor for the casino systems industry and is an internationally published young adult mystery author. Heather earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Nevada, Reno.
Citizen Bank’s longevity, discounts and rewards program make it a strong contender, especially if you’re looking for a conventional loan in one of the states it services. But a lack of online details for loan products beyond conventional mortgages, as well as poor customer reviews, may provide room to pause. Before signing up with Citizens, compare multiple mortgage lenders to find one that’s right for your budget and goals.