The Saint Rose Chronicle

Issue date: 2/27/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Geoff Arbuckle Accessible Key Bank ATM machine?on campus in the EAC.

Every fall, while incoming freshman are busy getting textbooks, moving into campus housing, and getting ready to make new friends, they are also deciding what checking account they are going to use during their years at The College of Saint Rose.

With a variety of banks to choose from, and with over 3,000 students at Saint Rose, banks understand that they have to be competitive to draw in college students looking for banks. Key Bank, Pioneer Bank, Bank of America, and Trustco Bank are all examples of banks that cater to Saint Rose students. Citizens Bank has also made it clear that they are interested in attracting the Saint Rose market.

Citizens Bank is owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland, making it part of the 2 trillion dollar company that is the 5th largest bank in the world.

According to Jeremy Halloran, Assistant Manager of the Pine Hills branch on Western Avenue, Citizens Bank already handles the banking affairs for Starbucks on campus, including the company that pays Starbucks employees, as well as the accounts of the Student Association and the Communications Honor Society Upsilon Iota. However, they would like to have a much larger presence on campus than they currently do.

"I'd love to get their corporate account," said Halloran. He has far-reaching ideas for a relationship between Citizens Bank and Saint Rose, from placing ATMs on campus to event sponsorship.

"At SUNY they have a SEFCU logo on the floor of their gym," Halloran said. He is looking for extensive Citizens Bank sponsorship opportunities such as this, even throwing out the idea of sponsored Freshman Orientation packets.

Aside from potential sponsorship opportunities, Citizens Bank offers other services to draw in students.

"We do a lot of education with foreign students who come in," said Pam Fisher, the Pine Hills branch manager. Their main focus is on working with Chinese students, teaching them about banking and also helping them get accustomed to the capital region.

"We also employ a lot of Saint Rose students," said bank teller Amanda Raszka. One of those students is Tatiana Liriano, who also works as a teller at the Pine Hills branch.

Continued...

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