[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 23, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 1760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-869]



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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, et al.; Formations of; 
Acquisitions by; and Mergers of Bank Holding Companies

    The companies listed in this notice have applied for the Board's 
approval under section 3 of the Bank Holding Company Act (12 U.S.C. 
1842) and Sec.  225.14 of the Board's Regulation Y (12 CFR 225.14) to 
become a bank holding company or to acquire control, ownership, or the 
power to vote shares of a bank or bank holding company. The factors 
that are considered in acting on the applications are set forth in 
section 3(c) of the Act (12 U.S.C. 1842(c)).
    Each application is available for immediate inspection at the 
Federal Reserve Bank indicated. Once the application has been accepted 
for processing, it will also be available for inspection at the offices 
of the Board of Governors. Interested persons may express their views 
in writing to the Reserve Bank or to the offices of the Board of 
Governors. Any comment on an application that requests a hearing must 
include a statement of why a written presentation would not suffice in 
lieu of a hearing, identifying specifically any questions of fact that 
are in dispute and summarizing the evidence that would be presented at 
a hearing.
    Unless otherwise noted, comments regarding each of these 
applications must be received not later than February 16, 1996.
    A. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (Robert M. Brady, Vice President) 
600 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02106:
    1. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, Edinburgh, Scotland; The 
Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Edinburgh, Scotland; and Citizens Financial 
Group, Inc., Providence, Rhode Island, have applied to merge Citizens 
Financial Group, Inc., Providence, Rhode Island, with Bank of Ireland 
First Holdings, Inc., Manchester, New Hampshire, and thereby indirectly 
acquire First NH Bank, Manchester, New Hampshire. Bank of Ireland First 
Holdings is a subsidiary of The Governor and Company of the Bank of 
Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.
    As a result of this merger, The Governors and Company of the Bank 
of Ireland would control 23.5 percent of Citizens Financial Group and 
thereby indirectly control shares of its subsidiary banks, including 
Citizens Savings Bank, Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens Trust 
Company, Providence, Rhode Island, and Citizens Bank of Massachusetts, 
Fairhaven, Massachusetts. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc will 
control 76.5 percent of the shares of Citizens Financial Group.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, January 17, 
1996.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Deputy Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 96-869 Filed 1-22-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-F