07/28/2010

Citizens Financial Group continues to expand Wealth Management business with senior appointment and plans for new hires

Dawn Dupre appointed President of CCO Investment Services Corp.

Providence, R.I. (July 28, 2010) - Citizens Financial Group, Inc., which continues to expand its Wealth Management business, announced the appointment of Dawn Dupre as President of its full-service brokerage and investment advisor unit, CCO Investment Services Corp.

“As we continue to develop deeper and broader relationships with our customers, expanding our investment business is a key priority for CFG,” said Ellen Alemany, Chairman and CEO of Citizens Financial Group. “We are pleased to have Dawn join our growing team, and look forward to her leadership. Her depth of knowledge and experience will serve our customers and organization well as we continue to expand this important business.”

In her role, Dupre oversees the delivery of Citizens’ full range of investment products and financial planning services to companies, not-for-profits, families and individual customers. Splitting her time between Boston and Philadelphia, she will play a key role in growing the business within CFG’s 12-state footprint, where Citizens is planning to hire an additional 40 Financial Consultants to serve the needs of customers in the next year. She reports to Mike Millard, CEO and Director of Wealth Management.

Prior to joining Citizens, Dupre was a territory sales director at PNC in Philadelphia, where she was in charge of sales management, investment distribution and compliance. During her 17-year career in the financial services industry, she also spent time at Merrill Lynch, where she was responsible for sales, recruiting and financial advisor development.

Dupre obtained a bachelor of science in finance from the Nicholls State University and is licensed in NASD Series 6, 7, 9, 10, 24, 63, 65 and 52, as well as life, health and variable annuities. She is an active member of the Philadelphia community where she resides with her family.

Dupre is the latest senior executive to join Citizens’ growing Wealth Management business. Last year, Citizens hired Thomas P. Fay as Chief Investment Officer and Director of Wealth Management Services, and Brian O’Connor as Head of Relationship Management for Citizens’ newly created Premier Banking business, which added 80 new premier bankers this year. Fay and O’Connor both held senior positions with Bank of America before joining Citizens.

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is a $144 billion commercial bank holding company. It is headquartered in Providence, R.I., and, through its subsidiaries, has more than 1,500 branches, approximately 3,500 ATMs and approximately 22,700 employees. 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. CFG has non-branch retail and commercial offices in about 40 states. CFG is owned by RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc). CFG’s Web site is citizensbank.com.  

About CCO Investment Services Corp.

CCO Investment Services Corp. offers financial services and products, including mutual funds, IRAs, annuities and retirement plans. It operates under the trade names Citizens Investment Services and Charter One Investment Services. CCO Investment Services Corp. (member FINRA, SIPC) is a subsidiary of RBS Citizens, N.A., which is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $144  billion commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I.