Citizens Financial Group (CFG) will raise its quarterly dividend by 18.5 percent to $0.32 per share in the first quarter of 2019. The first quarter dividend is now 45% higher than a year ago.

The increased dividend is payable on February 14, 2019 to shareholders of record at the close of business on January 31, 2019. The new annualized dividend rate of $1.28 per share yields 3.6% at a stock price of $35.43.

“We are pleased to have already achieved the lower end of our medium-term ROTCE target and are now increasing the range to 14 to 16 percent. Our strong performance has allowed us to raise our dividend today by a further 19%, as we continue to deliver strong value for all our stakeholders,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Van Saun.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Citizens Bank, N.A. and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens has branches in 11 states in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers corporate, institutional and not-for-profit clients a full range of wholesale banking products and services, including lending and deposits, capital markets, treasury services, foreign exchange and interest rate products, and asset finance.