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Charter One ranks No. 1 small business lender in Illinois for second consecutive year
Citizens Financial Group is No. 2 lender nationwide for the fifth consecutive year, reflecting its commitment to helping small businesses growCHICAGO (October 3, 2006) - Charter One Bank today announced it ranks as the No. 1 small business lender in Illinois and throughout the Midwest Region, District 5 – Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin – for fiscal year 2006, which ended on Friday, September 29, 2006 for Small Business Administration (SBA) lending. Citizens Financial Group, Inc., Charter One’s parent company, was named the No. 2 lender in the country for the fifth consecutive year, reflecting its commitment to helping small businesses grow.
In Illinois, Charter One topped all SBA lenders in number of loans for the second consecutive year with 877 loans totaling nearly $43 million.
Companywide, Citizens Financial Group’s Citizens Bank and Charter One Bank subsidiaries originated more than 6,800 loans, totaling more than $320 million. Fiscal year 2006 marks the second consecutive year Charter One Bank has been named the No. 1 SBA lender in the Midwest. Charter One enhanced its focus on small business lending to better serve the needs of its customers following Citizens Financial Group’s acquisition of the bank in September 2004. In the Mid-Atlantic region, Citizens Bank is the No. 1 SBA lender again this year in every market it does business, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, upstate New York and Delaware. In New England, fiscal year 2006 marks the 8th time Citizens has been named the #1 SBA lender.
“Charter One is proud to once again be the #1 SBA lender in Illinois. We understand the needs of the small business market and its significant role and contributions to the Illinois economy,” said Mark Luppi, Executive Vice President, Business Banking, Charter One Bank. “Our strength lies in the combination of our competitive products, our team of knowledgeable bankers and the education we provide to our customers.”
With a trained team of more than 50 business bankers focused on small business, Charter One offers comprehensive programs to educate small business owners about the full suite of deposit and loan products available to meet the needs of any small business. Charter One also has an underwriting team that is dedicated to processing loans quickly and efficiently.
Perry Veney, owner of SPDD Associates LLC in Chicago, was one of the many Illinois small business owners that secured an SBA line of credit from Charter One in 2006.
“Charter One took the time to understand my business needs and exceeded my expectations about timing, the ease of the loan process and overall customer service,” said Veney. “My partnership with Charter One has enabled me to dramatically increase productivity, strengthen my profile in the disaster relief industry and realize a 25% immediate impact to my bottom line. Our increased capacity to handle large-scale assignments, including rebuilding efforts in New Orleans commissioned to us by FEMA, permits us to play a larger and more effective role in communities impacted by disaster.”
About Charter One Bank, N.A.
Charter One Bank, N.A., is a $46 billion bank operating in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. It has 474 branches and more than 800 ATMs. It has 120 branches and 388 ATMs in Illinois. Charter One is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $164 billion commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I. Citizens has more than 1,600 branches, approximately 3,200 ATMs and 26,000 employees in a 13-state retail branch network and has non-branch retail and commercial offices in about 40 states. Citizens is the eighth-largest commercial banking company in the United States ranked by deposits and ninth in assets as of March 31, 2006. Citizens is owned by RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc).
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