Paul Manafort investigation
On May 12, 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States Department of Justice requested from numerous banks, including Citizens, Trump 2016 campaign manager Paul Manafort's transaction records. According to the article, the request was related to the investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. Manafort reportedly secured a $2.7 million loan from Citizens in 2016.
On February 26, 2018, Bloomberg News reported that Citizens' stock price dropped 4.1 percent after U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's indictment of Manafort was released, appearing to indicate that Citizens was the "Lender B" cited as having lent $3.4 million to the former campaign manager of President Trump.
Criticism for financing immigrant detention centers
Citizens Bank has faced criticism and protests for funding private, for-profit detention centers used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As of June 2025, nearly 90% of the people held by ICE are in facilities run by private, for-profit companies. The largest companies are Geo Group and CoreCivic, which have borrowed $550 million and $500 million, respectively, from Citizens Bank according to filings with the SEC.
In January 2026, activists in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and New York picketed two dozen Citizen Bank branches, appealing for customers to stop banking with Citizens Bank. In early February 2026, protests were held at an Alexandria, Virginia bank branch. Dozens of groups also planned similar events at local Citizens Bank branches in 11 states and Washington, DC to be held on March 7, 2026.
On July 16, 2026, shortly after the 2026 Delaney Hall hunger strike and protests, a spokesperson for Jersey City mayor James Solomon announced the city was pulling funds from Citizens Bank over its financial support for GEO Group and CoreCivic. The spokesperson said "Citizens Bank made a choice to finance the caging of human beings for profit. Jersey City is making a choice too: we will not be complicit." On July 17, Citizens bank announced it will stop helping GEO Group and CoreCivic get financing, not because of policy issues, but because the firms no longer need their help.