EDITORIAL: "Greed Is Good" - Citizens Bank Rolls Over Rhode Island Leaders

EDITORIAL: "Greed Is Good" - Citizens Bank Rolls Over Rhode Island Leaders

 

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Once upon a time, Citizens Bank was spearheaded by leaders like George Graboys, who built the business into a regional power and was at the forefront of giving back to Rhode Island.

 

Now, the leadership of Citizens seems too often to be anti-Graboys.

 

Citizens Banks Rhode Island President Keith Kelly is at the forefront of this season's corporate blackmail.

 

Kelly and his team are playing Rhode Island off against Massachusetts. If you don’t give us $15 million a year, we will move out of Rhode Island.

Greed is good.

 

This is the bank that, when it built its campus in Johnston, demanded that it pay the host community virtually no taxes.

Greed is good.

 

In the past five years, Citizens Bank got $90 million in tax subsidies from Rhode Island — families in West Greenwich, Smithfield, and Tiverton foot the bill. 

Greed is good.

 

Kelly's boss, Citizens CEO Bruce Van Saun, took down nearly $12 million in 2022, and then it dropped to $11.1 million in 2023.

Greed is good.

 

Citizens arm-twisted Rhode Island legislative leaders. Speaker of the House Joe Shekarchi changed positions about a half dozen times in the past three weeks. Governor Dan McKee was in on the deal, and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio has been out for weeks,

 

The number two in the Senate — majority leader Ryan Pearson — works for Citizens, of course.

Greed is good.