The Face of Foreign Investment in NH (Part 2)

Citizens Bank NH builds its reputation on being a local bank that gives back to the communities it serves, but being part of a larger multi-national company- The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in the United Kingdom-also allows it to provide customers with international cash management capabilities and other efficiencies through technology.

Cathleen A. Schmidt, president of Citizens Bank NH, says it's the perfect parent-child relationship: The large, wealthy, multinational parent lets Citizens' operations in each state run independently while offering support and services as needed.

The advantage is we have this parent with deep pockets and they let us continue to run our operations in the way that makes sense to us, Schmidt says. That's been our key to success. The economies of scale and local decision making.
About 60 percent of all foreign investment in the U.S. is in the services sector, which improves the global competitiveness of this segment of the U.S economy, according to U.S. Department of Commerce Research.

That's partly because the performance of domestic companies is enhanced by exposure to new techniques and practices from insourcing companies, says Dartmouth College Professor Matthew J. Slaughter in a report on mergers and acquisitions released last December.

Citizens Bank, one of the top 10 commercial banks in the United States, has 78 branches and 1,100 associates in NH. As its deposits come from customers who work or live in NH, its success mirrors that of the communities it serves. We're only as successful as the economy is, Schmidt says. We continue to invest in New Hampshire and give back. Citizens donates more than $2 million annually to charitable causes in NH. Most recently it teamed up with the NH Fisher Cats Baseball Team and the NH Food Bank to Strike out Hunger. Citizens donated $50 to the food bank each time a Fisher Cats pitcher struck out a batter, for a total of $25,000.

Schmidt acknowledges that ownership by RBS, one of the top five banks in the world, does give it capabilities smaller banks don't have. It does not, she stresses, make them less local.

Citizens Bank was acquired by RBS in 1988, and the only outward sign customers see comes on the legal forms for new accounts or loans. The larger type shows the trade name, Citizens Bank NH; the small type most people don't see has its legal name, RBS Citizens NA. To our customers, that doesn't matter, Schmidt says. To them, we're in Goffstown (and other local communities) and that's where they bank.