Citizens Financial is getting ready to quietly pull back from those bank counters tucked inside supermarkets and big-box stores, and Pittsburgh could feel some of the impact.
The bank told investors this week it plans to exit roughly 100 to 120 supermarket-style and in-store branches nationwide while keeping its overall retail footprint near 1,000 locations. The idea is to slim down lower-traffic spots and shift staff toward advisory, wealth and small-business roles, plus open a limited number of traditional standalone branches in what it sees as higher-opportunity markets.
What the bank told investors
As outlined by Citizens Financial Group in its Q2 investor presentation, the NEXT (Network Evolution and "Xperience" Transformation) plan calls for exiting about 100 to 120 in-store branches to self-fund roughly 50 to 60 new traditional branches nearby. The plan also calls for upgrading select sites into advisory or business-banking formats and adding specialist bankers. The slide deck notes the changes will be selective and phased, and the bank expects its retail branch count to stay "relatively stable" through 2035 as it densifies in core markets.
Pittsburgh footprint at stake
The Pittsburgh Business Times reported that Citizens still expects to maintain roughly 1,000 branches overall and that the bank had 67 branches in the Pittsburgh metro as of June 30, 2025. Those local numbers suggest the national pruning could touch neighborhood in-store counters. The Business Times also ran a photo of a Bethel Park in-store location, a reminder that a Wall Street slide deck can show up as a change in your weekly grocery run.
Why the bank says it's doing this
Executives are pitching the cuts as a way to chase more deposits and boost revenue per customer by moving resources into wealth, private banking, and small-business capabilities. Chairman and CEO Bruce Van Saun told investors, "We delivered strong second quarter results," and management said the NEXT program is meant to position the bank for faster household and deposit growth, according to Fortune.
How the network will change
Coverage of the investor slides notes that Citizens has already reduced its branch base over the last decade, roughly from about 1,180 to 970 locations, while increasing deposits per branch. Executives say that the track record supports selective consolidation. Industry write-ups of the plan say the goal is to replace lower-use in-store counters with richer advisory footprints that generate more deposits and fee income, a theme that shows up repeatedly in reporting on the slide deck.
What customers should expect
Bank leaders stressed that this will be a phased, market-by-market project rather than a single wave of mass closures. They are counting on digital channels and upgraded advisory sites to absorb much of the change. Market summaries of the earnings materials report that Citizens plans to redeploy colleagues into specialist roles over time, so local customers are more likely to see gradual conversions than overnight shutdown signs.
What to watch next
Citizens have not released any site-by-site closure list, so for now it is a waiting game. Local customers should keep an eye out for official bank notices and regional reporting for early clues. The bank's branch finder still lists in-store locations in the area, including Bethel Park's Giant Eagle address, which may be among the sites the company reviews as it rolls out the NEXT plan.
