As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 29, 2016

Registration No. 333-            

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

THE PNC FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP, INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

The Tower at PNC Plaza

300 Fifth Avenue

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-2401

(Address, including zip code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. 2016 Incentive Award Plan

(Full title of the plan)

Robert Q. Reilly

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.

The Tower at PNC Plaza

300 Fifth Avenue

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-2401

(Name and address for agent for service)

(412) 762-2000

(Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service for process)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

The following documents previously filed by The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (“PNC” or the “Registrant”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) are incorporated herein by reference:

(a) PNC’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, filed with the Commission on February 29, 2016;

(b) PNC’s Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on January 7, 2016, February 18, 2016, March 2, 2016 and April 29, 2016; and

(c) The description of PNC common stock, par value $5.00 per share, as set forth in the registration statement on Form 8-A filed by PNC pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act on September 24, 1987, as such description was amended by the registration statement on Form S-3 filed by PNC with the Commission on February 29, 2016 (File No. 333-209782), and as such description may be amended in any subsequent filing by PNC with the Commission under the Securities Act or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).

All documents filed by PNC pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment hereto, which indicates that all securities offered hereunder have been sold or which deregisters all securities remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents. Any report, document or portion thereof that is furnished to, but not filed with, the Commission is specifically not incorporated by reference.

Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference or deemed to be part of this Registration Statement shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained in this Registration Statement or in any other subsequently filed document that also is, or is deemed to be, incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement modifies or replaces such statement. Any statement contained in a document that is deemed to be incorporated by reference or deemed to be part of this Registration Statement after the most recent effective date may modify or replace existing statements contained in this Registration Statement. Any such statement so modified or replaced shall not be deemed, except as so modified or replaced, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

Not applicable.

The legal opinion regarding the validity of the securities to be issued is rendered by Christi Davis, Managing Chief Counsel and Corporate Secretary of PNC. As an employee of PNC, Ms. Davis participates or is eligible to participate in employee benefit plans of PNC on the same basis as other similarly eligible employees. Ms. Davis beneficially owns or has the rights to acquire an aggregate of less than 1% of PNC’s common stock.

PNC is incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Sections 1741 and 1742 of the Pennsylvania Business Corporation Law, as amended (the “PBCL”), provide that a Pennsylvania corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation), by reason of the fact that the person is or was a representative of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a representative of another enterprise, against expenses (including attorney’s fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the action or proceeding, provided that certain standards are met, including that the person acted in good faith and with the reasonable belief that the particular action was in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful. In the case of an action brought by or in the right of the corporation, indemnification of any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to the action by reason of the fact that the person is or was a representative of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a representative of another enterprise, against expenses (including attorney’s fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action is permitted if such person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation. No indemnification is permitted under this provision, however, in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person has been adjudged to be liable to the corporation, unless and only to the extent that it is judicially determined that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, the person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnification for the expenses that the court of common pleas or other court deems proper.

Section 1743 of the PBCL provides, in general, that a corporation must indemnify any representative of a business corporation who has been successful on the merits, or otherwise, in defense of any action or proceeding referred to in Section 1741 or Section 1742 or in defense of any claim, issue, or matter therein, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred therein. Under Section 1745 of the PBCL, a corporation may pay the expenses of a director or officer incurred in defending an action or proceeding in advance of the final disposition thereof upon receipt of an undertaking from such person to repay the amounts advanced, if it is ultimately determined that such person is not entitled to indemnification from the corporation.

Section 1746 of the PBCL provides that the foregoing provisions shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which a person seeking indemnification may be entitled under, among other things, any by-law provision, provided that no indemnification may be made in any case where the act or failure to act giving rise to the claim for indemnification is determined by a court to have constituted willful misconduct or recklessness.

Our By-Laws provide for the mandatory indemnification of directors and officers in accordance with and to the full extent permitted by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as in effect at the time of such indemnification. Our By-Laws also eliminate, to the maximum extent permitted by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the personal liability of directors for monetary damages for any action taken, or any failure to take any action as a director, except in any case such elimination is not permitted by law.

Section 1747 of the PBCL provides, in general, that a corporation shall have the power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a representative of the corporation or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a representative of another entity against any liability asserted against the person in any capacity, or arising out of the person’s status as such, regardless of whether the corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against that liability under the provisions of the PBCL.

2

PNC has purchased directors’ and officers’ liability insurance covering certain liabilities that may be incurred by its directors and officers in connection with the performance of their duties.

The foregoing is only a general summary of certain aspects of Pennsylvania law and PNC’s By-Laws relating to indemnification of directors and officers, and does not purport to be complete. It is qualified in its entirety by reference to the detailed provisions of Sections 1741, 1742, 1743, 1745, 1746 and 1747 of the PBCL and the By-Laws of PNC.

Not applicable.

provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement.

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(b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new Registration Statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

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SIGNATURES

The Registrant. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, PNC certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Pittsburgh, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on April 29, 2016.

5

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated:

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INDEX TO EXHIBITS

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