02/07/2017

Citizens Bank Partners with Opportunity Network to Offer Clients Access to Innovative Growth-Focused Business-to-Business Networking Platform

First U.S. bank to provide fintech solution to connect prospective business partners

PROVIDENCE, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Citizens Bank announced today that Citizens Commercial Banking is partnering with Opportunity Network to offer Citizens’ clients access to an innovative business-to-business networking platform designed to promote growth by connecting business owners to a network of 13,500 CEOs and $35 billion of deal flow.

Citizens is the first U.S. bank to offer its clients access to the Opportunity Network platform, through which users can seek trustworthy partners to help them expand into new markets, sell privately held enterprises, execute cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and maximize global asset utilization. Opportunity Network uses a proprietary algorithm designed to create efficiencies in global deal making by matching users' strategic preferences with current deals on the platform.

Citizens has a client-first approach, and the bank’s partnership with Opportunity Network is a clear demonstration of providing technology to help clients expand their businesses. As companies look for growth both domestically and internationally, Citizens is a leader in helping them facilitate growth by offering exclusive access to the network.

“It made a lot of sense for us to partner with Citizens Bank because the Citizens team is committed to leveraging innovative digital technologies – both organically and through partnerships such as ours – to create better experiences for their clients and to provide smart solutions in the areas that matter most to them,” said Garrett Smith, Opportunity Network founding partner and president, North America.

“Opportunity Network has an attractive value proposition for midsize businesses, and this collaboration gives us yet another way to help meet the needs of our customers at every stage of their life cycle," said Steve Woods, head of corporate banking for Citizens Bank. “Partnering with Opportunity Network helps us address an important issue: the fact that many midsize businesses and private investors could benefit from expanded tools and networks of contacts to grow.”

Citizens is positioned as a strategic and financial partner, offering deep expertise, great ideas and seamless deal execution. The Citizens Commercial Banking approach puts clients first, and offers solutions that help clients make the best decisions throughout the life cycle of their business.

More information about the Opportunity Network is available here. For more information about Citizens, visit the Citizens Commercial Banking website.

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $149.5 billion in assets as of December 31, 2016. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens helps its retail customers “bank better” with mobile and online banking, a 24/7 customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,200 ATMs and approximately 1,200 Citizens Bank branches in 11 states in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. Citizens also provides wealth management, mortgage lending, auto lending, student lending and commercial banking services in select markets nationwide. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers corporate, institutional and not-for-profit clients a full range of wholesale banking products and services including lending and deposits, capital markets, treasury services, foreign exchange and interest hedging, leasing and asset finance, specialty finance and trade finance.

Citizens operates through its subsidiaries Citizens Bank, N.A., and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania as Citizens Bank, Citizens Commercial Banking and Citizens One. Additional information about Citizens and its full line of products and services can be found at www.citizensbank.com.

About Opportunity Network
Opportunity Network is the business matchmaking platform where members can find trustworthy counterparties for any deal above $1 million and that allows banks to grow their market share. Members, key decision-makers selected by financial institutions from all over the world, post opportunities anonymously that vary from M&As, commercial partnerships, investments, to joint ventures. Opportunity Network now serves thousands of companies across 128 countries and has hosted over $35 billion in opportunity deal flow. Hundreds of connections have been made on Opportunity Network’s platform, playing a key role in sustaining global economic development.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Frank Quaratiello, 617-725-5851
[email protected]

Source: Citizens Financial Group, Inc.