Fifteen years ago, few would have imagined that you could walk into a bank today for financial planning or to buy mutual funds, annuities and insurance. Or that you could bank on Saturdays at your neighborhood branch — or any night of the week in a supermarket while buying your groceries. Or bank from your home computer, for that matter.
The financial services industry has changed mightily over the last 15 years. Stronger competition and acquisitions have brought new players to the banking landscape while Citizens Bank has grown and prospered.
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In 1986, when Providence Business News was founded, our company had $2.5 billion in assets, 30 branches and fewer than 800 employees in Rhode Island. Thanks to a dramatic growth period throughout the 1990s, Citizens is now Rhode Island’s largest bank, with more than $7 billion in assets, 62 branches and 3,800 employees. We are New England’s second largest commercial bank with more than $30 billion in assets, 330 branches and 8,000 employees in four states.
With the strength and support of our corporate parent, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, we have evolved into a full-service retail and commercial banking franchise with 1.8 million retail and commercial customers. Community lending remains one of our great strengths. The U.S. Small Business Administration has named Citizens the state’s small business lender for six consecutive years. In that time, we have provided 988 SBA-backed loans totaling $123 million to help small businesses get started or expand here in Rhode Island.
The Internet and regulatory changes have enabled banks to offer new services – investments, annuities and electronic banking including online bill payment and e-commerce opportunities. Even commercial banking has evolved from simply making business loans to providing expertise and specialized services such as international banking, leasing, loan syndication, cash management and venture capital.
As lines of business have expanded, so too have delivery channels. A busy young family knows it can bank with us “when, where and how they want” – when they shop for groceries, call the 24-hour PhoneBank or log on to Citizens Bank Online any time of the day or night. We’ve adapted to meet the needs of our customers.
But one thing hasn’t changed over the last 15 years – or for more than 170 years — we have called Rhode Island home. We have been there through the ups and downs, through periods of great economic growth and periods of economic decline.
We heralded Providence’s downtown renaissance when we opened One Citizens Plaza in 1990. Our 13-story corporate headquarters was the first privately funded development in the Capital Center district.
In 1991, when the state’s deposit insurance corporation failed and the banking crisis ensued, closing 45 banks and credit unions, Citizens stepped up to the plate. Our strength and stability enabled us to direct deposit Social Security and payroll payments through our branch system to thousands of anxious Rhode Islanders. It was one of our finest hours, an unforgettable experience during a time that forever changed the way Rhode Islanders view their money – and their financial institutions.
Citizens’ strategic growth outside Rhode Island since the late 1980s has enhanced our success here at home. For example, our recent acquisition of State Street Bank’s commercial banking group and purchase of UST Corp. in Boston brought more than 500 new jobs to Rhode Island.
Our success is not just about the jobs and services we provide to Rhode Islanders. It’s also about community. Fifteen years ago, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), which ensures access to credit and deposit accounts for low and moderate income individuals and communities, was in its infancy. Over the last three years, Citizens has originated 88 CRA-qualified loans totaling more than $12 million to nonprofit organizations focusing on community development.
Today, our workforce mirrors the growing cultural diversity in the communities where we do business. We speak 42 languages at Citizens and many of our employees volunteer translation services to our customers.
We believe our company’s strength is tied to the strength of our communities.
We have never lost sight of the community values and strong roots with which our company was shaped in 1828 when the High Street Bank was founded in Providence.
