Daniel Fitzpatrick, president and CEO of Citizens Bank Pennsylvania, told the audience at the African American Chamber of Commerce July Business Breakfast that the bank is committed to building the region’s economy, workforce and diversity.
“We’re working on the small businesses related to the growth industries. When you see a Fortune 500 firm get a huge contract–Boeing, for instance–there are 9,000 small companies building those planes,†he said. “Pittsburgh is ‘Huston North,’ and we’re here to support those providing the food, lodging, pipelines and trucking service.â€
Because Citizens is actually over capitalized, its business loan business is up 20 percent when the industry as a whole is flat. They are currently offering a small business rate of 3.99 percent.
“We’re not buying $20 million in mortgage securities, we’re lending to one company at a time,†he said.
But growing businesses without investing in people is pointless. Fitzpatrick said there has to be a new workforce in the pipeline, not only for the growth industries in energy and chemicals, but in his field also.