A seriously bulked-up share repurchase plan and good results of the Federal Reserve's latest banking industry stress test improved the share price of regional lender Citizens Financial Group (CFG 1.45%) in June. Over the course of the month, investors traded the bank's stock up by nearly 11% in reaction to this.
Not so stressed
The rally basically started in the middle of the month, when Citizens announced that stock buyback news. To the satisfaction of its shareholders, the company said it would bolster the existing program by a hefty $1.2 billion. As there was $300 million remaining from the previous authorization, granted in June 2024, the new total is $1.5 billion.
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For a stock with a sub-$21 billion market cap, that's substantial, and it should have a positive impact on the share price.
A more critical, industrywide development occurred at the end of the month with the stress tests. For those unfamiliar, these are an annual set of analyses in which major U.S. banks are tested to see how they would weather adverse economic conditions, some of which are quite drastic.
As has become the norm, the institutions under the microscope -- which include the "big four" American lenders, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup -- did quite well. All 22 passed their tests, albeit with the caveat that this year's edition was less rigorous than previous rounds.
Citizens Financial isn't sizable enough to go through this wringer annually, instead it's tested every two years, and in 2025 it got a break. Still, there were several regional banks not unlike itself among the 22 tested. All in all, the good results were taken to mean that mid- and large-sized banks in this country are generally doing well, and in the worst-case scenarios can probably cope with catastrophe.
A good Citizen?
I don't blame investors of Citizens Financial -- or any other bank of its size on this market -- for reacting positively to the stress test results. Despite some cuts and scrapes lately, our economy has been performing well, and the smart and disciplined approach of its better lenders is an ever-important factor in this.
Having said that, I'm not all that excited about Citizen Financial's performance recently. In its first quarter revenue was essentially stagnant, as was the company's end-quarter deposits figure. And average loans and leases slumped, even as a bump in non-interest income pushed headline net profit 12% higher to $374 million. To me, it's the larger banks that have better potential these days.
