CBCF Citizens Banking

NEW YORK, N.Y., Dec. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- First Cash Financial Services Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) will replace Republic Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:RBNC) in the S&P SmallCap 600 index after the close of trading on Friday, December 29. Republic is being acquired by Citizens Banking Corp. (NASDAQ:CBCF) in a deal expected to close on or about that date, pending final approvals. Standard & Poor's will monitor this transaction, and post any relevant updates on its website: http://www.standardandpoors.com/ . First Cash Financial provides specialty consumer finance products. Headquartered in Arlington, TX, the company will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) Consumer Finance Sub-Industry index. Following is a summary of the change: S&P SMALLCAP 600 INDEX - December 29, 2006 GICS ECONOMIC GICS SUB- COMPANY SECTOR INDUSTRY First Cash Consumer ADDED Financial Financials Finance Republic Regional DELETED Bancorp Financials Banks Additions to and deletions from an S&P equity index do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the companies concerned. About Standard & Poor's Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the world's foremost provider of financial market intelligence, including independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With approximately 7,500 employees, including wholly owned affiliates, located in 21 countries, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for more than 140 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com/. About The McGraw-Hill Companies: Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 290 offices in 38 countries. Sales in 2005 were $6.0 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/. DATASOURCE: Standard & Poor's CONTACT: David M. Blitzer, Ph.D. Managing Director & Chairman of the Index Committee +1-212-438-3907 Web site: http://www.standardandpoors.com/ http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/

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