Canadian Halal Investor.

NYSE Shariah screener · October 2026

Is Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (CFG) Halal?

FAIL

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. · NYSE: CFG · Financials

The short answer

Citizens Financial Group fails the Shariah business-activity gate: it is a conventional bank whose core revenue is interest on loans ($9,663M, 117.2% of revenue), and interest-bearing debt of $11,282M is 41.3% of its ~$27.29 billion market cap.

Gate 1 — Business activity: FAIL

Gate 1 — business activity: FAIL. Citizens Financial Group, Inc., per its FY2025 Form 10-K (year ended December 31, 2025), is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, operating principally through Citizens Bank. Its core activities are consumer and commercial deposit products, consumer and residential mortgage lending, commercial lending and specialized finance, payment and treasury management, credit cards, wealth management and trust services, and capital-markets capabilities, concentrated in the US Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

This is a conventional interest-based bank: its core business is taking deposits and extending credit, earning interest on loans. Interest-based lending is the business, not an ancillary line. The business fails gate 1.

Gate 2 — Debt and cash: FAIL

Gate 2 — interest-bearing debt: FAIL (41.3%, ceiling 33%). Per Citizens' FY2025 Form 10-K consolidated balance sheet, interest-bearing debt was about $11,282 million at December 31, 2025 (long-term debt $11,224 million plus short-term borrowings $58 million).

$11,282 million against a market capitalization of about $27.29 billion (Finnhub, October 2, 2026; NYSE: CFG) is about 41.3%, over the 33% ceiling. The latest Q2 2026 10-Q shows borrowed funds of about $16.3 billion - roughly 59.7% of market cap - so the ratio is worsening.

Gate 3 — Non-compliant income: FAIL

Gate 3 — non-compliant income: FAIL (117.2%, ceiling 5%). Citizens' FY2025 Form 10-K consolidated statement of income reports total interest income of $9,663 million against total revenue of $8,247 million - about 117.2%, far over the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. (The ratio exceeds 100% because reported revenue nets interest expense against interest income; Zoya uses a different revenue definition and reports 86.68% - the same conclusion.)

Interest income is the core business revenue of a bank. Expected for a conventional bank, and reported for the record.

Key figures used

Frequently asked questions

What does Citizens Financial Group do?

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CFG) is a bank holding company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, operating principally through Citizens Bank. Per its FY2025 Form 10-K (year ended December 31, 2025), it provides consumer and commercial deposit products, consumer and residential mortgage lending, commercial lending and specialized finance, payment and treasury management, credit cards, wealth management and trust services, and capital-markets capabilities, concentrated in the US Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

Is Citizens Financial Group's business Shariah compliant?

No - Citizens Financial Group is a conventional bank. Its core business is taking deposits and extending interest-bearing loans: consumer, mortgage, commercial, and specialized lending. Interest-based lending is the business, not an ancillary line. Assessed on the filed business description, the business fails this screener's first gate.

How much interest-bearing debt does Citizens have?

Citizens' FY2025 Form 10-K reports interest-bearing debt of about $11,282 million (long-term debt $11,224 million plus short-term borrowings $58 million) at December 31, 2025. Against a market capitalization of about $27.29 billion (Finnhub, October 2, 2026), that is about 41.3% - over the 33% ceiling. The latest Q2 2026 10-Q shows borrowed funds of about $16.3 billion, roughly 59.7% of market cap - the ratio is worsening.

How much interest income does Citizens earn?

Citizens' FY2025 Form 10-K reports total interest income of $9,663 million against total revenue of $8,247 million - about 117.2%, far over the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. (The ratio exceeds 100% because revenue nets interest expense against interest income; Zoya uses a different revenue definition and reports 86.68% - same conclusion.) Interest income is the core business revenue of a bank. Expected for a conventional bank, and reported for the record.

What do third-party Shariah screeners say about Citizens?

Zoya flags CFG as not Shariah-compliant (September 2026), consistent with this page's FAIL. I could not verify a Musaffa rating page for CFG or a ShariaPortfolio rating from public sources. Name note: OTCPK:CZNL (Citizens National Corporation, merging with Peoples Bancorp) is a different company - not this one. Third-party screeners apply different assumptions and update on different schedules - always check the latest screening before investing.

Sources

Screened 2026-10-02 from published company figures and market data. Figures change; this page is educational, not financial advice and not a religious ruling.

Screened with our two-gate Shariah screening methodology (business-activity gate, then AAOIFI-style financial ratios).