The Rhode Island bank joins a small group of financial institutions offering corporate clients the chance to park their cash reserves in environmentally friendly projects.

The Rhode Island bank endured a sharp decline in fee income from home loans, which had spiked earlier in the pandemic. But CEO Bruce Van Saun says the company is well positioned as the refinancing boom fades and the home purchase market becomes more important.

Executives at Citizens Financial and Regions Financial said they plan to make policy changes that will reduce their reliance on the controversial but already dwindling charges.

Fears of widespread credit losses have largely subsided, but demand for new commercial real estate loans remains lackluster because many companies are sitting on so much cash they don’t need to borrow. Meanwhile, competition from private equity groups and other nonbank lenders is escalating.

Acquiring the U.K. bank’s East Coast branches and online-only bank is “great for our balance sheet, great for our physical footprint” and will accelerate the growth of Citizens’ own direct bank, says Chief Executive Bruce Van Saun.

The London-based banking giant is selling 90 of its branches and shuttering about three dozen more. The 20 or so branches it is retaining will be transformed into international wealth centers.

Providence, R.I.-based Citizens Financial has largely focused on nonbank deals in recent years, but CEO Bruce Van Saun said the race for scale in the industry is prompting more banks — including his own — to consider mergers.

Citizens Financial Group has branded its point of sale lending software as Citizens Pay, saying it wants to more clearly define it as a merchant tool for "budget-friendly payment options" for customers who want a transparent and predictable way to finance purchases.

Donald Felix will join the Rhode Island company in January as head of national banking. He recently was responsible for developing a personal finance management strategy for JPMorgan Chase’s consumer bank.

Banks have managed to steer around trouble spots in energy, hotel and mall-related credits. But fears of further deterioration, an eviction wave or more job losses are keeping lenders circumspect.