RBS Citizens’ strategic referral agreement with Oppenheimer & Co. has been recognized as the Most Innovative Product of 2013 by Barlow Research Associates in its 2013 Monarch Innovation Awards. The award highlights RBS Citizens’ commitment to making it easier for middle market companies to develop financial strategies that encompass both commercial banking and investment banking products and services.

Under the agreement, RBS Citizens clients requiring financial advisory and equity capital markets services can be introduced to Oppenheimer, and Oppenheimer clients in need of traditional banking products and services such as debt syndications and extensions of credit can be introduced to RBS Citizens.

The Monarch Innovation Awards recognize “B2B innovations” within the financial services industry. Awards are presented to financial institutions and industry partners that provide the most innovative products to business customers. Barlow Research praised “the ability to enable the RBS Citizens relationship managers to serve as objective advisors while delivering deep, sector-specific expertise that goes far beyond what comparable banks offer.”

“We created this strategic agreement with Oppenheimer last year to make it easier for middle market companies to access public equity markets and to engage in mergers, acquisitions and divestitures,” said Bob Rubino, executive vice president and head of Corporate Finance & Capital Markets at RBS Citizens. “We now have helped several companies complete transactions through this agreement, and this recognition from Barlow Research is further validation of the value we are creating for our customers and for Oppenheimer’s customers.”

The Monarch Innovation Awards were developed by Barlow Research to honor innovation in the financial services industry.