NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) May 5, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it affirmed its 'AA-/A-1+' counterparty credit ratings on The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBSG), and its 'AA/A-1+' counterparty credit ratings on RBSG's main operating subsidiaries, Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (The) and National Westminster Bank PLC. The outlook is stable. At the same time, Standard&Poor's placed its 'AA-/A-1+' counterparty credit ratings on Citizens Bank of Massachusetts, Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania, and Citizens Bank of Rhode Island on CreditWatch with negative implications. The ratings actions follow RBSG's announcement on May 5, 2004, that it intends to acquire Ohio-based Charter One Financial Inc. (NYSE: CF; BBB+/WatchPositive/A-2) for a consideration of $10.5 billion (about
