Five Questions With: John Rosenfeld

"Many banks have raised fees as a result of a number of regulatory changes that have affected our industry. Our approach is different. We are driving significant customer growth by offering one of the simplest, clearest and most personal banking experiences in the industry."

John Rosenfeld is executive vice president for everyday banking for RBS Citizens Financial Group. He is responsible for all consumer and business products offered to the bank’s Citizens Bank and Charter One customers.
Rosenfeld has 12 years of executive leadership experience in financial services, which includes positions at TD Bank, TD Ameritrade and Bank of America. Prior his career in finance, he served for eight years as an officer in the U.S. Army and attained the rank of captain with the U.S. Army Special Forces.
Rosenfeld has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont.

PBN: Citizens Bank began offering One Deposit Checking with no monthly fee and no minimum balance required, as long as the customer makes one deposit per month of any amount. What’s been the response to that account since January when the bank introduced it? Have many new accounts been opened?
ROSENFELD:
People are excited about the simplicity of One Deposit Checking. Through February, our new checking account sales were more than 20 percent higher than last year and we are experiencing growth in our checking account portfolio as a result of these strong sales results.

PBN: According to Citizens research, only 24 percent of all noninterest bearing checking accounts in the U.S. charged a monthly maintenance fee in 2009. Now that figure is up to 62 percent. What do you think caused that trend toward monthly maintenance fees for accounts that don’t earn interest? Is that trend turning around now with products such as One Deposit Checking? Why?
ROSENFELD:
Many banks have raised fees as a result of a number of regulatory changes that have affected our industry. Our approach is different. We are driving significant customer growth by offering one of the simplest, clearest and most personal banking experiences in the industry. By making banking simple, clear and personal for our customers, we both win. Our recent product changes like One Deposit Checking and $5 Overdraft Pass – where customers avoid paying an overdraft fee for transactions of $5 or less – deliver on that promise in new and exciting ways.

PBN: How does the bank generate an adequate profit margin when it offers no fee accounts? Naturally, the bank has other revenue streams, but do these particular accounts come closer to an expense and income balance at some point, perhaps as customers make use of other services?
ROSENFELD:
Our entire strategy is all about building long-term relationships with customers who turn to us, not just for their checking account, but also for their mortgage, their student loan and other products and services. The checking account is the foundation of a bank’s relationship with its customer and we believe that building a strong foundation like this will enable us, over time, to serve more customers and to build deeper relationships with our customers. Consumers turn to banks that they trust for this kind of relationship. Our strategy is to demonstrate that we are a company that is 100 percent committed to helping our customers bank better.

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PBN: In your role as head of everyday banking, what trends are you seeing, in addition to the rapid increase in mobile banking?
ROSENFELD:
From an industry perspective, banks are being held to higher standards than ever before. This is a good thing. For example, these higher standards are driving banks to introduce simplified disclosures that are written for the average person to understand. The legal disclosures are still there, but some banks offer simplified guides to the most important features of a given account. Additionally, some banks, like Citizens, have introduced websites to help customers understand how their accounts work, such as how transactions are processed, and to explain various customer options, such as overdraft choices. People today are busy and they want banking to be simple. That’s why we have enhanced products and services across the bank – to make banking simple again. We call this initiative “Bank Better.” Our focus across all of our products and services right now is on making enhancements that can help our customers bank better so they can access their accounts when, where and how they want, whether it is in our branches, ATMs, online and mobile banking or 24/7 customer contact center.

PBN: Citizens Bank is in the news regularly as its parent company, Royal Bank of Scotland, prepares for the announced IPO of Citizens later this year, eventually taking the company completely public in the next couple of years. Do you think this will this impact the decision by some customers to bank with Citizens?
ROSENFELD:
I don’t see why it would. We are continuing to increase our investments in delivering a great customer experience and this is helping us not only retain customers, but attract new ones. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and this will not change. The enhancements that we continue to make, including One Deposit Checking, $5 Overdraft Pass, enhanced ATMs and more, underscore this commitment and continue to provide customers with the services and convenience that make Citizens Bank a valued banking partner.

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