Citizens Financial Group will no longer originate indirect auto loans, effective July 1, as part of its strategy to optimize its balance sheet and emphasize relationship-based lending. Citizens will retain and continue to service existing auto loans on its balance sheet.

“As Citizens continues to optimize its balance sheet, this decision further enables us to lend in areas that provide better risk adjusted returns and improved opportunities to deepen relationships with our customers,” Eric J. Schuppenhauer, head of consumer lending at Citizens, said. “We greatly appreciate the opportunity to have been the lender of choice for thousands of dealership partners over the years and are thankful for the dedicated team of colleagues that have delivered exceptional service.”

In Q3/22, Citizens began to reduce its number of active dealer relationships and de-emphasize its auto loan origination volume. As of March 31 of this year, Citizens had $11.5 billion of auto loans outstanding, down 6.5% from the end of 2022 and down 20.1% from March 31, 2022.