Citizens Bank and Fundation Win Award for Digital SMB Lending Partnership

On May 17, 2018, Citizens Bank announced industry recognition for its small business digital lending platform developed in partnership with Fundation Group LLC. Fundation is a digitally-enabled lender that provides integrated small business lending technology and solutions designed to work within traditional bank channels. The collaboration allowed Citizens Bank to offer a streamlined digital lending experience for small business customers, combining the bank's balance sheet and customer base with Fundation's technology platform.

The partnership was recognized with an award highlighting innovation in bank-fintech collaboration. This type of embedded lending arrangement represents an early example of what would become a broader trend in banking-as-a-service and embedded finance. Financial terms of the underlying partnership were not disclosed in the announcement.