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Charter One ranks No. 1 small business lender in Indiana
Citizens Financial Group is No. 2 lender nationwide for the fifth consecutive year, reflecting its commitment to helping small businesses growINDIANAPOLIS (October 3, 2006) - Charter One Bank today announced it ranks as the No. 1 small business lender in Indiana 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 Indiana, Charter One topped all SBA lenders in number of loans for the second consecutive year with 358 loans totaling nearly $14.4 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 Indiana. We understand the needs of the small business market and its significant role and contributions to the Indiana economy,” said Sandra Pierce, President and CEO, Charter One Bank, Indiana. “We look forward to continuing to meet the financing needs of small businesses through our SBA lending, specialized banking services and our knowledge and appreciation of this important business sector.”
With a trained team of 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.
Bill Stafford, president of Leffert Oil Company in Lafayette, was one of the many Indiana small business owners that secured an SBA line of credit from Charter One in 2006.
“Charter One partnered with me and helped Leffert Oil Company achieve a new level of growth by taking the time to understand our business needs and make the loan process as quick, easy and efficient as possible,” said Stafford. “Charter One’s expertise, products and relationship with the SBA helped enable us to offer new petroleum product lines and service the needs of many different industries throughout Indiana and neighboring states.”
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 67 branches and 73 ATMs in Indiana. 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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