Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman staff

Providence-based Citizens Financial Group Inc. has completed the acquisition of 80 HSBC Bank U.S.A.’s East Coast branches, as well as HSBC’s national online deposit business.

The acquisition, which was effective Feb. 18, extends Citizens’ physical presence to several markets and adds more than 800,000 new customer accounts, accelerating the bank’s national expansion strategy, Citizens said in a statement today.

The 80-branch acquisition includes 66 locations in the New York City area, nine branches in the Mid-Atlantic/Washington D.C. area, and five locations in Southeast Florida. The branches have been re-branded as “Citizens,” the bank said.

Citizens is also in the process of acquiring New Jersey-based Investors Bank, which has about 150 branches in the greater New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas.

“With this acquisition now complete, we look forward to bringing our new customers the full range of Citizens capabilities,” Bruce Van Saun, Citizens Chairman and CEO, said in the statement. “Combined with our pending acquisition of Investors Bancorp, these new branches will fill an important gap in our retail footprint while giving us a top-10 deposit ranking in the key New York City Metro market.”

Citizens brought on more than 500 HSBC employees as part of the acquisition, and the bank plans to hire more staff, including in wealth, mortgage, and business banking, “as we continue to build out our platform and position the bank for further growth,” Van Saun said.