LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) July 17, 2001--Standard&Poor's today affirmed its double-'A'-minus long-term and its 'A-1'-plus short-term counterparty credit ratings on Royal Bank of Scotland PLC and on fellow group members National Westminster Bank PLC, two subsidiaries of Citizens Financial Group (Citizens), and all other group affiliates. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its single-'A'-plus long-term and its 'A-1' short-term counterparty credit ratings on Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC. The outlook remains stable. The rating action follows today's announcement that Citizens has agreed to acquire the regional retail and commercial operations of Mellon Financial Corp. (A+/Stable/--). These consist of $13.4 billion of assets and related funding, 345 branches, and 4135 employees in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and
