How to download statements from First Citizens Bank

Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, First Citizens Bank is a regional bank. Its deposit and card statements are available as PDF downloads in online banking. When a bookkeeper, lender or tax preparer asks for statements, this is the errand: get complete statement PDFs out of First Citizens Bank, in order, with nothing missing. Here is how, plus what the archive will and will not give you.

Downloading a First Citizens Bank statement PDF, step by step

List the accounts before you download anything. A cleanup fails on the forgotten account, not the big one. Write the full list — deposit, savings, cards, anything that moved money in the period.
Work through Statements account by account. Each account's archive is separate even under one sign-in. Finish one account's months before starting the next, so gaps stay attributable.
Download newest and oldest in the same sitting. The newest statement proves current position; the oldest proves where the period started. Getting both ends first frames everything between them.
Fill the middle month by month. Step through the archive in order. When a closing balance does not match the next opening balance, stop — that seam is a missing month, and it is findable now and expensive later.
Convert with the originals kept apart. Upload the PDFs for conversion, but file the bank-issued originals untouched in their own folder. Converted files are working copies; originals are the record.

These are the general steps most banks follow for statement downloads; exact menu labels vary by bank and change over time.

Statement periods and older statements

Most accounts statement monthly, closing on the same cycle date each month. Online statement archives typically reach back several years; when a cleanup needs months beyond the online archive, the route is a statement request to the bank — branches and phone support can usually produce older PDFs or paper copies for a closed period, and those paper copies convert through the scanned (OCR) route with the same reconciliation check.

What statements this bank issues

Expect the standard regional-bank set: monthly statements for checking and savings with opening and closing balances and a running balance on most layouts, card statements on the Previous / New Balance pattern where the bank issues its own cards, and periodic statements for CDs and money market accounts. Each type converts separately, against its own balances. First Citizens absorbed CIT, so older business statements in an archive may carry CIT layouts that read differently from current ones.

Before you download: a two-minute checklist

Download the month before your start date too — its closing balance is your opening proof.
Include credit-card statements, not just deposit accounts; cleanups stall on the forgotten card.
Convert one month and confirm it reconciles before downloading the remaining eleven — layout surprises are cheapest on a sample.
Note any account that changed product or name mid-period; its statements may sit under two headings in the archive.

Closed accounts and former customers

Online access usually ends when an account closes, and with it the self-serve archive. Former customers can typically still obtain statement copies by request — expect identity verification and a research turnaround rather than an instant download. Order them before the cleanup deadline, not during it. When the copies arrive as paper or scans, they convert through the OCR route and are reconciled against their printed balances like any other statement.

Questions and answers

Paper or eStatement — does it matter for conversion?

The digital PDF is always the cleanest input. A paper statement can be scanned flat at a steady resolution and converted through OCR; its result is reconciled and flagged rows should be reviewed against the scan.

What does the reconciliation check do with the download?

It adds the extracted transactions to the statement's opening balance and compares the result with the closing balance — and checks running balances row by row where printed. Downloads that do not tie are flagged, never passed silently.

What file should I send my accountant — PDF or converted?

Both. The PDF is the record; the converted Excel or CSV is the working file. Sending the pair means any figure can be traced back to the bank's own document in one step.

Does First Citizens Bank charge for old statements?

Recent statements in online banking are self-serve. Research copies of older or closed-account statements are a bank service and policies vary — ask before ordering a long history, and check the online archive first.

Why does my First Citizens Bank statement month not match the calendar month?

Statements close on a cycle date set by the bank, which is often a few days before or after month end. Work in statement periods when you import — the closing date on the document is the period's end, whatever the calendar says — and let the balance chain, not the calendar, tell you whether a month is missing.