RBS 2010 Annual Report Download - page 35

33RBS Group 2010
Divisional review
US Retail & Commercial
launched the Student Money Bundle, a new packaged account offering
a range of services and incentives for students. GoalTrack Savings is a
programme that allows customers to set their own savings goals and
earn a bonus for achieving them. Since it was introduced in December
2009 it has seen over 26,000 new enrolments, with more than $42 million
in committed savings goals.
Re-investing in the core franchise
We are committed to upgrading our infrastructure, with a 41% increase
in capital investment in 2010 compared with the previous year. Key
initiatives include new commercial loan and mortgage systems, a new
teller system with image capture at our branches, and online banking
enhancements, as well as the iPhone mobile banking.
Restructuring for the future
In line with the settlement agreed with the EC in 2009, we announced
and completed the divestment of our Global Merchant Services (GMS)
business, including RBS WorldPay in Atlanta. Under the terms of the sale
to Advent International and Bain Capital, RBS will retain a 19.9% stake in
the business, and can refer its customers to them for global merchant
products and services. In May 2010, we also completed the exit of our
joint arrangement with Kroger Personal Finance.
Strengthening risk management
Enhancing our risk-management capabilities is a critical business objective
within our Strategic Plan. We have created two new Risk Management
groups and made several appointments to our risk leadership team,
including a Chief Risk Officer for Citizens Financial Group. We’re being
swift and strategic as we respond to the changing environment we face.
Leveraging commercial capabilities
Through Global Transaction Services (GTS), we introduced
accessMOBILE, an easy-to-use smart phone application that enables
clients to manage commercial banking transactions on a convenient and
portable basis. We were the first bank in our footprint area to offer such
a service. We also worked closely with GTS on a fall sales campaign,
strengthening our partnership for the benefit of serving our customers.
Commercial Banking has partnered with Business Services to implement
AFS, our new loan origination and servicing platform. This will enhance
our relationship managers’ ability to respond quickly to their customers’
needs. We also invested in over 150 days of training programmes aimed
at enhancing sales management skills across different products and
areas. More than 700 staff from Commercial Banking, GTS and Foreign
Exchange desks participated in the training.
The Commercial teams are capitalizing on market disruption, as three in
five mid-sized companies ($10 million to $500 million in annual sales) are
actively seeking a new provider or would consider it if presented with a
compelling offer. We are also leveraging strong client loyalty, with 86% of
the $5 million to $25 million client segment and 75% of the $25 million to
$500 million client segment saying they would continue using Citizens for
future banking needs.
Our new Commercial Enterprise Banking division addresses the needs
of companies with $5 million to $25 million in annual revenues. CEB’s
$10 million in technology and people investments included Citizens’ first
shared, uniform credit delivery and portfolio management business
model, as well as a larger sales force to improve market coverage and
better serve existing clients.
Community response
Often we experience events outside our control. A profound example is
the historic flooding that occurred in New England in late March and
early April. Citizens responded with special financing and grants for local
businesses, non-profit agencies and individual customers.
We supported our colleagues who suffered damages of their own
through the company’s Emergency Assistance Fund. This event was
more than a disaster recovery exercise – it was leadership at its finest.
Recognition
We received a range of awards that recognised our industry leadership
and commitment to staff, customers and the communities where we do
business:
•Citizens was named second in the US in delivering the best experience
for small-business customers by the ath Power 2010 Small Business
Banking Study™, moving up from No.10 in 2009.
•In New Hampshire, Citizens Bank was named the Business of the
Decade in the financial services category by Business NH Magazine.
•In Connecticut, we received a Green Business Award from Business
New Haven for our Green$ense programme. The RBS Americas
Headquarters building in Stamford also received a Climate Change
Leadership Award from Connecticut’s Governor.
•Citizens Financial Group was recognised by Conceive magazine, for
the third consecutive year, as the top company nationwide for offering
family-building benefits to its staff, including fertility treatment and
adoption assistance. For the fourth consecutive year, we were also
recognised by the Dave Thomas Foundation as the Best Adoption-
Friendly workplace in financial services.
New client acquisition in the Commercial
Enterprise Banking segment tripled from
the prior year.
Citizens was named second in the US
in delivering the best experience for small
business customers, moving up from
No.10 in 2009.