Citizens Bank received $300 million in new capital from its overseas owner as loan losses accelerated during the first quarter of this year and its operations, predominantly in New England, lost $98.7 million.
In a filing with federal bank regulators that detailed results at its banks in the Northeast, Citizens disclosed it wrote off $451 million in bad loans in the quarter. It also set aside $608.8 million for potential future losses. Total past-due and nonperforming loans hit $2.5 billion, the bank confirmed, up from $2.1 billion at the end of last year.
The bank's parent, Citizens Financial Group Inc., is based in Rhode Island. The latest filing covers most of the company but not its banks in Pennsylvania and certain nonbank operations.
Barbara Cottam, a spokeswoman for the banking group - the second-largest in the region - declined to comment on the capital infusion. She deferred to public comments expected to be made Friday, when its foreign parent, the Royal Bank of Scotland, gives its quarterly market update. But the disclosure that it received $300 million in capital from the Royal Bank marks a change in circumstances for Citizens. Last fall, as its troubled parent tottered amid the global financial crisis and lined up for a bailout from the British government, Citizens said it had enough capital to weather the storm.
Citizens Financial Group went on to record a $929 million loss for 2008. The Royal Bank reported a $34 billion loss last year, the largest in British corporate history, and is 70 percent owned by the British government after a massive bailout.
Beth Healy can be reached at bhealy@globe.com. 
