Citizens Bank New Hampshire hosts Community Partners Celebration in honor of 30th Anniversary of Community Reinvestment Act
Presents Trailblazer Award to Michael Swack of Southern New Hampshire University and Not Your Typical Partner Award to Eliza Leadbeater Manchester, N.H. (October 12, 2007) - Citizens Bank New Hampshire celebrated the success of its community partners across the state today with an annual luncheon and awards program held for more than 100 community leaders at the Holiday Inn in Concord. This year, Citizens Bank also recognized the 30th anniversary of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) which was established to encourage banks to help meet the credit needs of all segments of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.
“This luncheon has become an annual tradition at Citizens Bank – one that both my colleagues at the bank and our community partners look forward to every year,” said Cathy Schmidt, president and CEO of Citizens Bank, New Hampshire. “It is an event where we take time to celebrate our community partners and our combined community development efforts in New Hampshire. This year, our event has even more significance, as we highlight the fact that 30 years ago today, the Community Reinvestment Act was made law.”
Over the past ten years, Citizens Bank has been involved in a wide array of community development projects in New Hampshire, reinvesting over $200 million through community development loans and investments in affordable housing projects and community revitalization activities.
According to Schmidt, Citizens Bank views the Community Reinvestment Act not as a regulatory obligation, but as an opportunity.
“We know that the success of our business is tied to the strength of our communities,” said Schmidt. “In fact, Citizens was the first bank in the country to employ a dedicated CRA officer. Today, we have 18 full-time CRA officers in the 13 states where we operate.
“As we continue to grow as a company our commitment to our core values is as strong as ever. Innovative programs like our Job Bank, Housing Bank and Champions in Action program help create long-lasting change in our communities,” pointed out Schmidt. “We will continue to reinvest in our communities, and focus our giving on some of the most critical issues facing our state including affordable housing, community economic development and innovative responses to basic human needs.”
Michael Swack, Dean of the School of Community Economic Development at Southern NH University also spoke to the group on the impact CRA has had on New Hampshire.
Michael Swack, Dean of the School of Community Economic Development at Southern NH University in Manchester also spoke to the group on the impact CRA has had on New Hampshire.
“Think back 30 years ago. Where were you? Did your organization even exist?” said Swack as he began his remarks. He then told of his own humble start in community development working for an affordable housing effort operating out of a church basement in Madison, Wisconsin. “Community-based organizations 30 years ago had no concept of providing credit services. In that time we’ve learned that we can contradict conventional wisdom by working effectively with strong partners, and provide creative and flexible financing. We’ve learned we can make a difference.
“We take that knowledge, we take what we’ve learned, and we apply it to reach more people, to increase our impact, to take some calculated risks, and to expand our vision by continuing to think creatively,” concluded Swack.
Swack was presented with a special Citizens Bank Community Development Trailblazer award for being instrumental in creating a wide variety of community development innovations and for having played a significant role in creating the community development structure that exists in the state today.
For the last 25 years, Swack has served as an educator of community development practitioners – a role that helped launch many of the non-profit community development groups in New Hampshire. He also developed the legislation that created the NH Community Development Finance Authority’s tax credit program and served as the Founding Board President of the New Hampshire community Loan Fund.
As the Dean of Southern New Hampshire University’s School of Community Economic Development, Swack helped grow the School from a graduating class of 35 in 1982 into an impressive group of 2,500 graduates who are making meaningful contributions across the globe.
In addition, Citizens Bank presented its annual “Not Your Typical Partner” Award to Eliza Leadbeater for her enormous impact in the Lakes Region community where for more than fifteen years she worked at the Belknap County Economic Development Council to create programs to support businesses in the region, focusing her efforts on relocation assistance, a revolving loan fund, and a business information center.
“We are honored to present these awards to Michael Swack and Eliza Leadbeater, and this celebration presents a great opportunity for us to recognize all of our partners that are making a difference in our communities,” said Schmidt. “I would like to thank all of our community partners and my dedicated colleagues for the passion and commitment they demonstrate everyday. It is because of their hard work that individuals and families receive the critical services they need to improve their lives.”
About Citizens Bank
Citizens Bank is a division of RBS Citizens, N.A., operating its seven-state branch network in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. It has 78 branches and 164 ATMs in New Hampshire.
RBS Citizens, N.A. is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $159 billion commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I. CFG’s 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. It is one of the 10 largest commercial banking companies in the United States ranked by assets and deposits. CFG is owned by RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc).
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