CFG's "Tools for School" program helped 30,000 students and their families prepare for the new school year

    /24-7PressRelease/ - PROVIDENCE, RI, September 26, 2007 - Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has announced the results for this year's "Tools for School" program, an initiative in eight states that collects and provides school supplies for local disadvantaged children. With donations of school supplies from CFG colleagues, customers and the general public, lead gifts from the Citizens Charitable Foundation and partnerships with local youth agencies and media, CFG delivered more than 30,000 backpacks filled with supplies to children heading back to school.

The National Retail Federation recently reported that families with school-age children plan to spend an average of $563 on back-to-school clothing, shoes, supplies and electronics this year, including approximately $98 on back-to-school supplies alone. By donating 30,000 backpacks filled with supplies, CFG and its partners have helped local families save approximately $2.9 million this school year.

"CFG has found that buying new clothes and shoes aren't the only stretches for many families at back-to school time, finding ways to pay for even the most basic supplies can be a struggle," said Stephen D. Steinour, President and CEO of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. "This year's Tools for School program has made sure that 30,000 local children start their school year off on the right foot, with the supplies they need to succeed. CFG is proud and thankful for the many community partnerships that made this year's program a success."

The Tools for School program was created five years ago in Rhode Island and has expanded to help children in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware and Ohio. State-by-state partnerships and results are as follows:

• Rhode Island - Distributed 12,000 backpacks in partnership with 92-PRO-FM and Rhode Island Recycling for Education.
• Massachusetts - Distributed 3,300 backpacks in partnership with Cradles to Crayons and Greater Media.
• New Hampshire - Distributed 3,000 backpacks in partnership with PlusTime and 95.7 WZID.
• Connecticut - Distributed 600 backpacks in partnership with the Office of the Child Advocate and the Connecticut Association of Adoption and Foster Parents.
• Pennsylvania - Distributed more than 6,500 backpacks and 250 shopping bags filled with supplies (the latter for high school students) in the state. In eastern Pennsylvania, partners included Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham's Urban Genesis Foundation, the Philadelphia Business Journal, Power 99 FM, Delaware County Council and the Delaware County Times. In western Pennsylvania, backpacks were distributed to County homeless shelters and social services agencies in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Centre, Crawford, Erie, Mercer, Monroe, Venango, Washington and Westmoreland counties in partnership with the Homeless Children's Education Fund, Renda Broadcasting's WJAS, AM News Talk 1360 WPTT and Giant Eagle.
• New York - Distributed 4,000 backpacks in partnership with more than 30 organizations in the state.
• Delaware - Distributed 700 backpacks in partnership with the Wilmington Blue Rocks to students in New Castle County through the Adopt A Family agency.
• Ohio - Provided a $10,000 sponsorship to the Salvation Army's Tools for School campaign in Toledo. Twenty-two Charter One branches in the Toledo area collected school supplies for the initiative.

Hundreds of volunteers in these communities helped sort supplies over the summer and stuff the backpacks, which are logo-free and designed to support a positive experience toward going back to school.

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the 10 largest commercial banking companies in the United States ranked by assets and deposits. It is headquartered in Providence, R.I., and, through its subsidiaries, has more than 1,600 branches, more than 3,300 ATMs and more than 24,500 employees. Its two bank subsidiaries are RBS Citizens, N.A. and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. They operate a 13-state branch network under the Citizens Bank brand in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont, and the Charter One brand in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. CFG has non-branch retail and commercial offices in about 40 states. CFG provides financial products to individual, small business and commercial banking clients. Specializing in full-service product packages, CFG offers checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, home equity loans, mortgage financing and more. CFG is owned by RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc). For more information, visit CFG's Web site at www.citizensbank.com.

# # #