06/06/2013

Citizens Bank issues student loan "report cards" to borrowers and co-signers to help them monitor and track loan balances through college

As part of Citizens Bank's commitment to transparent lending, the TruFit Student Loan Annual Summary makes it easier for student loan holders to anticipate what they will owe when they graduate

Providence, RI (June 6, 2013) – As part of its commitment to being a transparent lender, Citizens Bank today announced the introduction of a new TruFit Student Loan Annual Summary to student loan borrowers and their parents or co-signers to help them effectively manage their student loans and be well prepared for life after graduation.

Traditionally, many lenders have shared student loan totals after a student graduates, right before it is time to start making payments. With these annual updates, Citizens Bank TruFit Student Loan borrowers and their families now will have more visibility into their total debt and estimated monthly payment well in advance of graduation to help them adequately prepare and make sound borrowing choices while in school.

"We believe we are leading the industry with this effort to make it easier for our borrowers and co-signers to ‘know what they owe' and plan their finances accordingly as students progress through college, said Brendan Coughlin, President of Education Finance, RBS Citizens Financial Group. "As a transparent lender, we already work with our customers when they apply for a loan to help them find the solutions that are right for them, whether they be federal student loans or private student loans. The TruFit Student Loan Annual Summary extends that same level of transparency and support over the course of our customers' college years. With this new tool, it will be easier for students to avoid surprises and prepare better for life after college by incorporating their future loan payments into their financial planning."

The TruFit Student Loan Annual Summary provides Citizens Bank student loan borrowers with the following details:

  • Amount borrowed to date from Citizens Bank
  • Estimated monthly payments after graduation based on the total amount borrowed to date
  • Date payments are scheduled to begin

These summaries, sent to student borrowers and co-signers for the first time this month, will be issued annually to TruFit Student Loan borrowers.

Citizens Bank's TruFit Student Loan is a private student loan available with a fixed or variable rate and flexible repayment terms of five, 10 or 15 years, giving students the choice to select the option that best fits their needs. Borrowers receive interest rate reductions for automating their payments.

As part of its dedication to students and its commitment to being transparent, Citizens Bank has a dedicated team of customer service representatives who work with students to make sure they are aware of all of their funding options before determining if a private student loan is the best solution for them. It also works with schools to ensure that students only borrow what they need to pay for their education, including indirect costs like books and personal expenses.

Citizens Bank also offers online tips and tools to help students prepare and save for college as well as student loan information on how to apply for financial aid, federal and private student loans. The site includes a financing calendar with important dates and deadlines for securing funding and a student loan calculator to help students determine how much they will need to borrow to pay for college and how much they will owe once they graduate.

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 47 branches and 125 ATMs in Connecticut. It has 24 branches and 52 ATMs in Delaware. It has 252 branches and 754 ATMs in Massachusetts. It has 80 branches and 202 ATMs in New Hampshire. It has 157 branches and 373 ATMs in New York. It has 82 branches and 190 ATMs in Rhode Island. It has 21 branches and 40 ATMs in Vermont.

RBS Citizens, N.A., is a subsidiary of RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $126 billion commercial bank holding company. It is headquartered in Providence, R.I., and through its subsidiaries has approximately 1,400 branches, more than 3,600 ATMs and nearly 19,000 colleagues. Its two bank subsidiaries are RBS Citizens, N.A., and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. They operate a 12-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, Michigan and Ohio. RBSCFG has non-branch retail and commercial offices in more than 30 states. RBSCFG is owned by RBS (the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc). RBSCFG's website is citizensbank.com.