Four years ago this December, Citizens began doing business here. Pittsburgh has been a wonderful place for Citizens and our business is growing steadily.

		Larry Fish is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Citizens Financial Group, parent company of Pittsburgh-based Citizens Bank. This is a modified transcript of a speech he delivered to the Allegheny Conference's Regional Investors Council Luncheon earlier this month. The conference is taking a group of about 100 local leaders to Boston later this week to see what makes it tick and what Pittsburgh can learn from it.

Today, we employ over 2,000 and, besides our local business, Pittsburgh is home to one of our two major telephone centers and our national corporate security activity which covers 13 states, 1,700 branch offices and 28,000 employees. We're led here by my colleague and friend, Ralph Papa, who does a wonderful job and we're very proud to be investors in this community.

We're proud of preserving the Allegheny County Bookmobile Program in 2002; of our Citizens Bank Job Bank Program, which has created 1,500 jobs since we began tying low interest loans to local companies creating jobs in Pittsburgh and throughout the state; our support of Hosanna House; our Free Days at The Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History; and a number of other local initiatives. We have felt, from day one, tremendously welcomed here in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh's a hugely friendly city. It's very affordable. You have major league sports teams, great hospitals, world class culture. It's a great place to live. It's a great place to do business, too, which leads me to what I've been asked to talk about. It's a tale of two cities -- Boston and Pittsburgh. Why is one doing better than the other?

I've lived in Boston for about 25 years. I'm culturally more attuned to Pittsburgh, having grown up in Chicago. I always feel when I come to Pittsburgh like I'm coming home.

There's an impression, part impression and part reality, that Boston is doing a lot better than Pittsburgh. Why is that?

Well, Boston has 70 colleges and universities -- Pittsburgh has 34. Per capita, Pittsburgh has just as much intellectual horsepower as Boston and both cities have elite faculties. Both cities are recipients of major national research funding and are leaders in training and delivery in the medical sciences. Both cities have excellent transportation capabilities. In fact, Pittsburgh's airport and its central geographic location would give it a big advantage vis-a-vis Boston. So then why is Boston doing better? There are probably lots of explanations, but I'd like to talk about three.

First, it's the role of immigration. Recently, Citizens Bank sponsored a study of the role of new Americans in the Boston community and here's what we found. In the last 15 years, the number of immigrants living in Massachusetts has increased 40 percent. More than 130,000 new immigrants came between years 2000 and 2004. In fact, without these 130,000 new Americans the state's population actually would've decreased by 70,000.

Most of the successful sectors of our economy (life sciences, health care, education and software) have prospered in part because of immigrants. Eighty percent of these new Americans arrived with English proficiency. Boston today is roughly 40 percent white, 8 percent African American and more than 50 percent other. At Citizens in the Boston area, we speak 72 languages in 256 branches. For 13 percent of our work force, English is the second language.

In the last four years, the largest immigration has come from the following countries, in order: Brazil, India, Haiti, Japan, Ukraine and China. Boston, as a result, has a growing population and a growing work force.

We're all descendants of immigrants. Pittsburgh was built about 100 years ago by immigrants. But my impression is this city has missed out on this dominant demographic trend in population in America over the last 20 years.

Every year, 1.4 million immigrants are allowed into this country legally. Minneapolis, Boston, and New York figured out how to do it. Obviously, California and Arizona did it. Somehow Pittsburgh didn't get that. I don't see any reason why Pittsburgh can't get aboard.

Number two is something a number of people spoke about earlier today. The morale here isn't great. Sure, Boston has winning sports teams. It's had great public works projects. In Pittsburgh, when I come here, not one on one, but when you talk to each other, everything is always so down. I don't understand it. It's a wonderful place to live. It's a great place to work.

In the last two years alone, Boston has lost John Hancock Life Insurance to Toronto, Fleet Bank to Charlotte, N.C., Gillette (after 120 years) to Cincinnati and most recently Reebok to Germany. People are disappointed, but they move on.

Here, whether it's the Downtown retail environment, US Airways, the Pirates, the city's fiscal problems, it's just too negative. And by the way, you will not be successful marketing Pittsburgh outside until you talk positively inside.

Third, there's just too much government here. You never hear about the county in Boston. It's Boston and the state. A good example of this is Rhode Island; we're headquartered in Providence. When I first got there about 12 years ago, it was one of only two states in the nation that had a two-year term for governor. You can't do anything in two years; the second year, you're already raising money for the election. The leadership got together and really focused on getting a four-year term. Over a three-year period, we got it done and it dramatically changed politics in the state.

I don't know what that one thing is in Pittsburgh, but the government needs attention and the Allegheny Conference on Community Development has, can and should play an important role here. In fact, the Allegheny Conference doesn't even exist in Boston. There is no place where leadership assembles. There is no center of corporate pride and concern. The Allegheny Conference is a great resource for this community and I think can probably play an important role in all these points I mentioned, but especially in this political one.

Thank you all very much; all of you have made us feel very welcome here in Pittsburgh. We're proud to be a part of this community and we will do our share to see Pittsburgh grow and be successful.