Citizens Financial Group, Inc. to Acquire College Raptor

Expands Advice and Insight Capabilities to Help Families Plan for College

PROVIDENCE, R.I. & IOWA CITY, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CFG) today announced a definitive agreement to acquire online college planning platform College Raptor, Inc. Terms were not disclosed.

College Raptor, founded in 2012 and headquartered in Iowa City, is an innovative college planning platform that matches prospective students to schools based on both academic and financial fit. It offers robust content and tools to help prospective students evaluate and select a college, including side-by-side comparisons of estimated aid packages, as well as campus match scores and admission chances. Upon the closing of the transaction, it will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Citizens.

“The acquisition of College Raptor offers unique opportunities to engage with prospective college students and their families as they navigate the college search and selection process,” said Chris Ebeling, EVP and head of student lending at Citizens. “This innovative platform further strengthens our ability to provide personalized advice and insights during this important stage of their lives, while also bolstering our commitment to financial empowerment. We are committed to providing our younger generation of customers with the digital support and services they need throughout their financial journey.”

“College Raptor’s mission is to empower students and their families as they plan their college journey, and this combination will deepen our capabilities while connecting users with a best-in-class financial partner,” said Bill Staib, CEO and co-founder of College Raptor. “Together with Citizens, we look forward to expanding our platform and offering families a richer and more valuable overall experience to help them realize their educational and financial dreams.”

Citizens is a leader in student lending and offers numerous borrowing options for credit-qualified students, graduates, and their families, including the Citizens Parent Loan, Citizens Student Loan, and Citizens Student Loan with Multi-Year Approval. In addition, through its Education Refinance Loan, Citizens offers refinancing options for both private and federal student loans to credit-qualified borrowers.

Citizens is a longtime advocate for financial empowerment and reaches families through innovative partnerships in the communities it serves. This acquisition will continue those efforts by providing education and resources to help people make informed financial decisions.

The transaction is targeted to close in the fourth quarter of 2022. Goodwin Procter LLP served as legal advisor to Citizens. Wedbush Securities, Inc. served as financial advisor, and Pugh Hagan Prahm, PLC as legal advisor, to College Raptor.

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $226.7 billion in assets as of June 30, 2022. 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 1,200 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.