Citizens Bank can originate home loans in every state and Washington, D.C., but it only has loan officers in 20 states, predominantly in the Northeast.
The lender publishes its best available interest rates on its website for 15- and 30-year fixed-rate conventional loans. Citizens rates tend to be lower than the national average. For example, its 30-year fixed mortgage rate starting at 5.89% was much lower than the national average of 6.33% in mid-January 2023, according to Freddie Mac.
These rates include a 0.125% discount that’s available if you automatically pay your mortgage from a Citizens checking account and choose paperless statements.
Home equity line of credit (HELOC) borrowers can get a 0.25% rate discount with autopay from a Citizens checking account. In some states, you can get the autopay discount on mortgages and HELOCs when using any bank’s checking account.
Homebuyers in select states can earn up to $6,500 when buying or selling a home through Citizens Bank’s full-service homebuying program. The higher the home value, the higher the reward. You don’t have to get a Citizens mortgage to qualify, but you do have to work with a HomeStory Real Estate Services real estate broker.
Loan Types
Citizens offers the following types of mortgages:
- Conventional purchase: 15- or 30-year fixed rate
- Conventional refinance: 15- or 30-year fixed rate
- 7-year, 6-month fully amortizing refinance adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM)
- Jumbo purchase or refinance: fixed rate, variable rate or interest-only
- Construction (or renovation) to permanent
- FHA
- Rural Housing Service/USDA
- VA
- Fannie Mae HomeReady: for low- to moderate-income first-time homebuyers
- ONE Mortgage Program (Massachusetts only): for low- to moderate-income first-time homebuyers
- HELOC with 10-year draw period and 15-year repayment period
- Low-rate GoalBuilder HELOC up to $25,000
Loan Minimum
Citizens Bank doesn’t disclose whether it has a minimum mortgage amount except on its GoalBuilder HELOC, which has a $5,000 minimum. Some lenders do not offer small mortgage loans, which can make it challenging for people to buy, renovate or refinance less-expensive properties.
Loan Maximum
Loan maximums depend on mortgage type and qualifications. Citizens doesn’t disclose how much you might be able to borrow with a jumbo loan.
Other loan limits are based on federal law, not bank requirements. For example, the most you can borrow with an FHA loan in 2023 is $472,030 in low-cost areas and $1,089,300 in high-cost areas like New York and Los Angeles. The conventional conforming loan limit for 2023 is $726,200 in most parts of the country and $1,089,300 in high-cost areas. To borrow more, you may need a jumbo loan.
Loan Servicing
Citizens Bank appears to service at least some of the mortgages it originates. So if you get your loan from Citizens Bank, you may also make your payments to Citizens Bank.