RBS 2007 Annual Report Download - page 20

Divisional review continued
Citizens
Divisional review
Highlights
•We remained No.1 US Small Business Administration
lender in New England, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
•Since the late 1980s, Citizens has approved more than
41,000 Small Business Administration loans totalling
more than $2 billion.
•We introduced e-Statements in 2007 and expect to
save at least 10 million sheets of paper in 2008.
•The Customer Relationship Review, an automated
profiling and customer data management tool, was
introduced to enhance and improve customer service.
Very challenging economic conditions affected our personal
lending, mortgage and auto loans businesses. However,
Citizens continued to make progress in developing its corporate
and commercial franchise. In doing so it drew on the strengths
of the wider Group, enabling us to make private placements,
public bond offerings and loan syndications and to provide
cross-border solutions to clients. Citizens’ Foreign Exchange
and Derivatives revenue grew by more than 20%.
Kroger Personal Finance, our joint venture with the second
largest US supermarket group, sold over two million products,
including 1-2-3 Rewards®MasterCards®, and prepaid and
gift cards.
Our colleagues who serve customers every day often know
best what we can do to improve our service. So last year we
undertook a range of activities to make sure those ideas came
to the fore. This resulted in more than 270 improvements to
service provision. Our investment was rewarded with an increase
in the customer satisfaction score to 85%.
RBS Group • Annual Report and Accounts 2007
18
Contribution ($m)
07
06
2,647
2,917
ePrize LLC, the world’s largest
interactive promotions agency,
was one of the first recipients of
Charter One’s Job Creation Loan
Program, a $200 million loan
commitment to companies that
create jobs in Michigan.
Ellen Wolf, CFO, American Water,
with Thomas Connor, RBS Greenwich
Capital and Steve Stambaugh of
Citizens discuss the private placement
of Senior Unsecured Notes.