Funding supports growing need for education and investment as highlighted in new Junior Achievement/Citizens teen financial health survey

Citizens today announced $2.4 million in financial empowerment grants to support 137 nonprofit organizations, including $415,000 to Junior Achievement as part of the bank’s Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money program. The bank also announced the results of a teen financial wellness survey, published in partnership with Junior Achievement, that demonstrates the need for expanded financial literacy programs.

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Citizens CEO Bruce Van Saun and colleague volunteers deliver Junior Achievement financial empowerment programming to students at Segue Institute for Learning in Central Falls, RI. (Photo: Business Wire)

“Citizens is committed to ensuring that all community members have the resources and tools needed to make sound financial decisions,” said Bruce Van Saun, Chairman and CEO Citizens Financial Group. “We know that having strong financial knowledge is essential to unlocking opportunity and reducing the wealth gap and are proud to partner with Junior Achievement and our local financial literacy partners to provide training to empower our communities to achieve financial wellness and build brighter futures.”

According to the survey of 1,000 teens ages 13-18 conducted by Wakefield Research, money worries weigh heavily on American adolescents – 78% reporting they are currently stressed out about money and 74% sharing that their family’s money situation is a barrier to achieving their future goals. The survey also demonstrated that there is a gap between services provided and the interest level of teens to gain control of their finances – 77% of teens said they would be interested in taking a course to better understand how to manage money but only 42% said they had received lessons or courses in school.

“This research shows that many of the concerns adults have about managing money are being felt by the young people in their homes. Having a better understanding of how money works is one way to address the worries today’s young people have about their financial futures, which is why promoting financial literacy education is so important,” said Jack E. Kosakowski, President & CEO of Junior Achievement USA. “We are grateful for Citizens leadership in helping promote financial empowerment programs to support the mental and financial health of today’s youth.”

Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money is the bank’s financial empowerment program dedicated to providing funding and volunteerism to support programs that give people the confidence and tools they need to budget, save, invest, and pursue their goals. Throughout the year, Citizens colleagues share their time and talents to deliver financial education training to support grant recipients programming.

For more information on Citizens’ enterprise-wide Sustainability and Impact strategy that guides its environment, social and governance efforts to empower the communities it serves, please click here.

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $222.0 billion in assets as of December 31, 2023. 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. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a full-service customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,300 ATMs and approximately 1,100 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.

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