Governor Rendell and Citizens Bank announce major expansion of “Citizens Job Bank” in Pennsylvania
New two-year, $150 million commitment celebrates Job Bank’s second anniversary PHILADELPHIA (April 4, 2006) - Citizens Bank announced today that it is making another major jobs and economic development commitment as part of its innovative “Citizens Job Bank” initiative. At a news conference in Philadelphia celebrating the second anniversary of the program, Citizens executives and Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell announced a new two-year $150 million commitment to the Citizens Job Bank, a public-private partnership originally created with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Surrounded by hundreds of community and business leaders and elected officials, Citizens’ executives and Gov. Rendell celebrated the program’s tremendous success and signed a new memorandum of understanding to extend and expand the Citizens Job Bank. Created in 2004 through a partnership with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Citizens Job Bank has exceeded its $100 million goal and will create more than 4,100 jobs at 37 companies in 25 counties across Pennsylvania.
“Two years ago, Citizens Bank stepped forward and became the first private partner in the Economic Stimulus Program, by encouraging investment to create new jobs in Pennsylvania,” said Rendell. “Today, the success of the Job Bank – one of the first programs of its kind anywhere in America – is a matter of fact: more than 4,100 new jobs all across the state.
“I congratulate Citizens Bank on the success of Job Bank,” the governor said. “Citizens has been a great partner in bringing new jobs to Pennsylvania, and I can think of no better way to celebrate this success than by announcing the expansion of Job Bank for another two years.”
“Citizens Bank is committed to Pennsylvania and to growing our economy,” said Stephen D. Steinour, Chairman and CEO of Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. “We developed the Citizens Job Bank in partnership with the Commonwealth because the program is both good public policy and good business. And with a major new commitment of Job Bank funds, we will expand the impact of the program and keep the momentum going in the effort to create new jobs in Pennsylvania.
The announcement was held at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, the site of a planned new rail car assembly plant that will be reconstructed and outfitted by Rotem USA Corporation, the American subsidiary of the Korean rail giant Rotem, part of the Hyundai Motors Group. With the help of a $5 million Citizens Job Bank loan, Rotem will create 200 new jobs at the site over the next two years as it prepares to assemble rail cars awarded under contracts announced in the last month.
The contracts include: 104 Silverliner V rail cars for SEPTA’s regional rail system; and 87 double-decker rail cars for the Southern California Regional Rail Agency. Together, the two contracts represent $421 million in rail car construction, and they mark the return of the rail car assembly industry to Philadelphia after an absence of nearly 20 years. Rotem has pledged to assemble cars built for other American markets at the Navy Yard as well.
“Philadelphia is our home in America, and we are very proud to be bringing rail car assembly back to the city,” said Dr. Soon-Won Chung, Vice Chairman and CEO of Rotem Company. “Citizens Bank is our partner in this endeavor by virtue of the Job Bank loan. We look forward to a very bright future in Philadelphia, and we are eager to get started.”
The new Citizens Job Bank expansion will enable more companies to qualify for the program. Companies will be required to create one job for each $40,000 borrowed, as opposed to a $25,000 limit in the original Job Bank program. The expansion will include companies that specialize in industrial and distribution operations along with select business services. Citizens is making $150 million available for a fixed interest rate of 4.99 percent for all loans in the first year, which is more than 2.75 percent below the current prime rate. By contrast, the interest rate in the initial phase of the Job Bank program was just 1.5 percent below the prime rate in the Spring of 2004, when the program first was created.
The Citizens Job Bank is the first of its kind in Pennsylvania, and the bank’s research indicates it is the first such program of this scale in the nation. It complements the Commonwealth’s existing economic development incentives by targeting mid-sized and large companies that need access to capital for business expansion. Companies eligible for the program include any public or privately-owned businesses engaged in manufacturing and industrial companies in Pennsylvania or those that relocate here. The minimum loan size is $1 million and the maximum is $10 million. Citizens will continue to waive all fees that are traditionally tied to loan applications. The terms of the loan require that the specified jobs be created within three years after the funds are borrowed.
“Through the past two years of the Citizens Job Bank, the bank has provided companies with the necessary resources and incentives to do what Citizens has done since it opened for business in Pennsylvania – grow and create new jobs,” said Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Yablonsky.
“I was confident this program would be a success from its inception and, after two years, I am happy to join Citizens Bank and Governor Rendell once again to celebrate the Job Bank’s success and announce the expansion of the program.”
Companies interested in obtaining more information about the program can log on to the DCED Web site, www.newpa.com. Also, companies in the western part of the Commonwealth can contact Dave Molnar, Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking in the bank’s Western Region for more information, and in the Eastern Region, Mike Rainone, Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking. A special hotline is available by calling 717-720-1413.
About Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania
Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania is a $35 billion state-chartered bank with dual headquarters in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. It has 402 branches, more than 670 ATMs throughout Pennsylvania. It also operates 13 retail branches and 25 ATMs in southern New Jersey and a commercial loan office in Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $155 billion commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I. Citizens has more than 1,600 branches, approximately 3,800 ATMs and more than 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. Citizens is owned by RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc).
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