Citizens to rebrand Charter One, separating itself from RBS

Citizens Bank
CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP INC. is giving away $40,500 as part of its "Fund Your Dreams Giveaway" to promote home equity lines of credit. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/KELVIN MA

(Updated, Sept. 15, 11:05 a.m.)
PROVIDENCE – Citizens Financial Group Inc. announced Monday it will rebrand its more than 200 Charter One branches in Michigan and Ohio as “Citizens Bank” by mid-year 2015, part of its new unified brand strategy to create a consistent Citizens Bank presence across all 11 states in which the bank operates.
The company already operates as Citizens Bank in the other nine states where it has branches and will continue to do so, according to a statement.
“The name Citizens has been a part of our heritage and culture as a company since 1871. We want to leverage this strong brand to provide a consistent, high-quality banking experience to all of our customers, wherever we do business,” said Bruce Van Saun, chairman and CEO of Citizens Financial Group. “We aspire for Citizens to become a top-performing regional bank, and this rebranding effort is part of our strategy to grow our business in the Midwest and beyond.”
Under the rebranding initiative, the Charter One Commercial Banking division will transition from “RBS Citizens” to “Citizens Commercial Banking” in the fourth quarter of this year, while consumer lending businesses serving customers outside the Citizens retail footprint will be branded “Citizens One.”
The move to consolidate Charter One under the Citizens brand is part of the bank’s overall effort to distance itself from its parent, Royal Bank of Scotland PLC, and establish Citizens as a standalone company.
At the same time, all “RBS Citizens” commercial activities will be re-branded to “Citizens Commercial Banking.”
Last month, Citizens filed a draft prospectus for its initial public offering planned later this year. RBS CEO Ross McEwan has said that “the divestment of Citizens is a key component of our plan to continue to strengthen RBS’s capital position.”

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