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MARKETS LIVE BLOG:

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Citizens Financial (CFG) Rolls Out Online Banking Platform

Zacks Equity Research
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Citizens Financial Group CFG recently launched a fresh digital service — Citizens Access — which will provide the bank’s consumers with a digital platform to directly avail its various banking products and services.  Citizens Financial plans to market its digital bank outside the company’s current market and operate it independently of the bank’s existing retail services.

Stating the bank’s objective in developing this online platform, John Rosenfeld, president of Citizens Access, said, “Over the last several years, direct bank deposits have grown six times faster than deposits at traditional banks as consumers have sought innovative new ways to save money. To address these evolving customer needs, we designed Citizens Access to provide an exceptional digital experience where every task is intuitive and easily accomplished, even on a mobile phone.” He further spoke about the differentiated Certificate of Deposits (CD) that Citizens Access will offer its consumers for developing a better savings plan.

Citizens Access offers a variety of banking products and services, which include Member FDIC-insured online savings and CD accounts with attractive rates and no fees. One of the key features of the platform is that its users will be able to open and fund a new account instantly, in less than five minutes, by following an easy five-step process. This service can be accessed through CitizensAccess.com.

Further, the company described Citizens Access to be safe and secure which can be easily accessed through a mobile device or computer. The platform will also offer a savings tool to consumers that will help them save in different ways. For instance, one of its features will enable users to create a CD ladder which would provide the higher-rates advantage of long-term investments while maintaining liquidity at the same time. Also, consumers will receive electronic copies of all documents.

Notably, Citizens Access offers higher deposit rates without charging any kind of fees from its customers, which differentiates it from other digital banks that charge consumers for providing even basic banking services.

Rolling out the Citizens Access service is a commendable move by the bank to retain its digital savvy consumers as well as to bring in new ones.  Earlier in 2017 also, Citizens Financial launched various digital services for its consumers such as SpeciFi and Zelle. The bank’s strategy to expand its presence by investing in technology will bear fruit over the long term.

Citizens Financial’s shares have gained around 9.6% in the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 6.2%.


 

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the same space are Banner Corporation BANR, First Defiance Financial Corp FDEF and WSFS Financial Corporation WSFS. All these carry a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Banner Corporation’s 2018 earnings estimates have been revised 1.7% upward over the last 60 days. Also, its shares have gained 4.7% in a year’s time.

First Defiance Financial’s Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings moved 1.2% upward in the last 60 days. The company’s share price has risen almost 23% in the past year.

WSFS Financial’s Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings remained unchanged in the last 60 days. However, the company’s shares have gained 6.9% over the past year.

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WSFS Financial Corporation (WSFS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (CFG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Banner Corporation (BANR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
First Defiance Financial Corp. (FDEF) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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