By Pritam Biswas

(Reuters) -Citizens Financial Group said on Wednesday that Vice Chair and Chief Financial Officer John Woods would leave in August, after more than eight years with the bank.

Woods is set to take over as finance chief at State Street, a separate release from State Street said.

He joined Citizens from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in February 2017.

"He (Woods) has been instrumental in shaping our long-term financial strategy and delivering on our growth objectives while navigating a complex economic landscape," Citizens' CEO Said Van Saun said in a statement.

The announcement comes amid market uncertainty sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies, when financial institutions are assessing their growth prospects and the way forward.

"The announcement related to Mr. Woods does come as a surprise, but we are confident Citizens' search (internal and external) will result in a strong replacement and smooth transition," said David Long, analyst at brokerage firm Raymond James, which reiterated its "strong buy" rating on Citizens' stock.

Woods previously served as CFO of JPMorgan Chase's home lending division and also held key roles at Arthur Andersen, where he began his career and worked for 16 years.

At State Street - one of the world's largest custodian banks - he will replace Mark Keating, who served as interim CFO after long-time finance chief Eric Aboaf left in February to join financial information company S&P Global in the same capacity.

NEW PRESIDENT

Citizens Financial also announced the promotion of company veteran Brendan Coughlin to the position of president.

Coughlin was vice chair and head of consumer, private banking and wealth at Citizens and will continue to oversee the verticals he headed, along with the enterprise data and analytics and marketing divisions.

"The announcement related to Mr. Coughlin's appointment is not a surprise, given the success he has had in leading several initiatives for the bank," Long said.

(Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)