A Brief History of The Royal Bank
of Scotland Group

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is one of the world's leading financial services providers and one of the oldest banks in the UK. Following the takeover of National Westminster Bank in 2000, the Group has continued to grow its business around the globe and, in addition to its strong UK presence, it has offices in Europe, the USA and Asia. By the end of 2002, it was the second largest bank in Europe and the fifth largest in the world by market capitalisation.

In the UK the Royal Bank's branch network spans the nation and boasts a pedigree of great variety and distinction. Its history is very much the history of banking in the British Isles over the past four centuries, as the Royal Bank can trace its roots back to the sixteenth century through the amalgamation of more than 200 private and joint stock banks which comprise its past and present constituents.

The Royal Bank of Scotland itself was founded in Edinburgh, by royal charter, in 1727. It opened its first branch in Glasgow in 1783 and developed a large network of offices throughout Scotland during the nineteenth century. In 1874 it opened a branch office in London and from the 1920s developed, by acquisition, a major presence in England. Banks which joined the group during these years included Drummonds (established c.1712), Williams Deacon's Bank (established 1836), Glyn, Mills & Co (established 1753) and Child & Co (established c.1580s), with business in London, north-west England and overseas. By 1970, following the Royal Bank's merger with the Edinburgh-based National Commercial Bank of Scotland, comprising the former National Bank of Scotland (established 1825) and Commercial Bank of Scotland (established 1810), it enjoyed over forty per cent of Scotland's banking business. Under the Williams & Glyn's Bank banner, it also boasted a large and growing presence in England and Wales. In 1985 Williams & Glyn's merged fully with the Group's Scottish clearing bank which thereafter traded throughout Britain as a single entity, The Royal Bank of Scotland.

During the 1980s the Group diversified, setting up an innovative car insurance company, Direct Line, in 1985 and acquiring Citizens Financial Group (established 1828) of Rhode Island in the USA in 1988. Both were to prove highly successful ventures. During the early 1990s the Royal Bank refocused on its core business of retail banking, acquiring the private bank of Adam & Company (established 1983) in 1992. It launched Direct Banking in 1994, which quickly became Britain's fastest growing twenty-four-hour telephone banking operation, and in 1997 announced the UK's first fully-fledged on-line banking service over the internet, as well as joint financial services ventures with both Tesco and Virgin Direct.

In 2000 the Royal Bank acquired National Westminster Bank plc, in the biggest takeover in the history of British banking, to create a huge Group, with a highly diversified portfolio of services for personal, business and corporate customers. National Westminster Bank had been formed in 1968, when National Provincial Bank (established 1833), along with its subsidiary District Bank (established 1829), and Westminster Bank (established 1836), agreed to merge. The combined bank, which began trading in 1970, could, like the Royal Bank itself, trace its history back down the centuries through its own lineage of prestigious constituent banks. From the late 1970s National Westminster Bank had grown rapidly, extending its activities beyond domestic retail banking, by developing overseas and merchant banking interests. In 1995 the bank was restyled NatWest Group, to reflect the positioning of the company as a portfolio of businesses.

After the merger of the Royal Bank and NatWest the businesses of the two groups were combined, and the enormous task of integrating their IT systems began. Scheduled to be completed in 2003, it was the largest project of its kind ever attempted, and was finished in November 2002, four months ahead of target. NatWest's retail bank continues to operate as a distinct and separate brand on the High Street.

Today The Royal Bank of Scotland Group's importance in the banking sector is firmly reflected in its long and distinctive history.

A Brief History of Citizens
Financial Group

Today, Citizens Financial Group has more than 1,600 offices, approximately 3,100 ATMs, and more than 27,000 employees in 13 states covering New England, the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest. We weren’t always that big, though – we started with one bank in Providence, Rhode Island. Here’s how we grew.

1828 – High Street Bank is established in Providence, Rhode Island, to serve the growing commercial banking needs of Rhode Island’s industries.

1871 – High Street Bank obtains a second charter to establish Citizens Savings Bank – a mutual savings bank.

1947 – The first retail branch opens in Cranston, Rhode Island.

1948 – After moving its offices to the Citizens Savings Bank location, High Street Bank is renamed Citizens Trust Company.

1950 – Citizens Savings Bank is the first mutual savings bank to become a member of the FDIC.

1954 – Citizens Bank acquires the Greenville Trust Company, adding $8 million to its franchise.

1981 – George Graboys is named chief executive officer and Citizens Financial Group is established as the bank’s holding company.

1986 – Citizens purchases its first subsidiary, Gulf States Mortgage Company, which later becomes Citizens Mortgage Corporation.

1988 – Citizens Bank gains market share in Massachusetts with its acquisition of Fairhaven Savings Bank, which becomes Citizens Bank of Massachusetts, a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group.

1988 – Citizens Financial Group becomes a subsidiary of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, one of the largest banking groups in the United Kingdom.

1990 – Construction of the 13-story Citizens Plaza in downtown Providence is completed and becomes Citizens’ new Corporate Headquarters. Citizens Bank acquires Old Colony Bank, making it the 2nd largest bank in Rhode Island in assets under management.

1992 – Lawrence Fish succeeds George Graboys as Citizens Bank’s Chairman. An acquisition of Plymouth Five Cent Savings Bank doubles the customer base of Citizens Bank of Massachusetts.

1993 – Citizens Bank acquires Boston Five Bancorp and the former New England Savings Bank in New London, Connecticut.

1994 – Citizens Bank expands its asset size over $9 billion by acquiring Neworld Bancorp, Inc., New London-based former Coastal Federal Savings Bank, and the former Old Stone Bank in Providence, Rhode Island. The bank begins to offer mutual funds through its retail bank branches in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

1995 – To make banking even easier for our customers, Citizens Bank acquires Quincy Savings Bank and opens its first supermarket banking location. Today, supermarket banking has grown to include over 50 locations in some of the country’s leading retailers.

1996 – Citizens Bank acquires Manchester-based First New Hampshire Bank from the Bank of Ireland and Middletown, Connecticut-based Farmers & Mechanics Bank.

1997 – Citizens Bank of Massachusetts acquires Grove Bank, headquartered in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Citizens Bank of Connecticut acquires The Bank of New Haven.

1998 – Citizens Bank of Massachusetts builds a stronger presence in the Boston area with its acquisition of Woburn National Bank. Citizens Bank also acquires 4 out 5 branches of Branford Savings Bank of Connecticut, further expanding its presence throughout New England.

1999 – Citizens Bank purchases the Commercial Banking Group from State Street Corporation and introduces Citizens Bank Online [link to Online Banking intro page], its electronic banking service.

2000 – Citizens Bank purchases UST Corporation of Boston, Massachusetts, making Citizens Bank of Massachusetts a $14 billion full-service bank. The acquisition includes the insurance brokerage Brewer & Lord.

2001 – Citizens Bank purchases Mellon Bank’s retail units, expanding its presence into the Mid-Atlantic area and increasing its assets to over $53 billion.

2002 – Citizens acquires Medford Bancorp.

2003 – Citizens Bank completes the purchase of Commonwealth Bancorp of Norristown, Pennsylvania; Port Financial Corporation in Brighton, Massachusetts; Community Bancorp in Hudson, Massachusetts; and The Feitelberg Company, one of southeastern New England’s largest insurance agencies. Citizens becomes the 7th largest banking and insurance operation in the U.S.

2004 – Citizens Bank further strengthens its presence in the Mid-Atlantic with its acquisition of Charter One Financial, Inc., based in Cleveland, Ohio. Citizens also purchases the credit card business of People’s Bank, headquartered in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Lynk Systems, Inc., an electronic payment processing firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Overall company assets now total $148 billion.