Charles River Associates Signs $40 Million Unsecured Credit Facility; New Agreement Provides Company with Increased Financial Flexibility.

Business Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 15, 2004

Charles River Associates Incorporated (NASDAQ: CRAI), an internationally known leader in providing economic, financial, and management consulting services, today announced that the Company has signed a $40 million revolving credit facility from Citizens Bank of Massachusetts. The unsecured facility will mature in January 2006. CRA intends to use the facility for general corporate purposes and acquisition financing.

"Entering fiscal 2004, we identified a number of opportunities to accelerate the growth of our business," said J. Phillip Cooper, CRA's executive vice president and CFO. "Combined with the cash proceeds from our recent public offering and operations, this facility provides CRA with significant additional financial flexibility to pursue those opportunities."

"Citizens Bank is pleased to partner with Charles River Associates as it builds on its impressive track record of providing outstanding services to its clients and great value to its shareholders," said Robert Mahoney, vice chairman of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. "We are honored to provide funding in support of this exceptional company's continued growth and success."

About Charles River Associates

Founded in 1965, Charles River Associates is an economics, finance, and business consulting firm that works with businesses, law firms, accounting firms, and governments in providing a wide range of services. CRA combines economic and financial analysis with expertise in litigation and regulation support, business strategy and planning, market and demand forecasting, policy analysis, and engineering and technology management. CRA is distinguished by a corporate philosophy of providing responsive, top-quality consulting; an interdisciplinary team approach; unsurpassed economic, financial, and other analytic skills; and pragmatic business insights. In addition to its corporate headquarters in Boston and international offices in Brussels, Dubai, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, Toronto, and Wellington, CRA also has U.S. offices in College Station, Houston, Los Angeles, Oakland, Palo Alto, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, and Washington, D.C. More information about the Company can be found on its website at www.crai.com.

About Citizens Bank of Massachusetts

Citizens Bank of Massachusetts is a $26.5 billion bank with 240 branch offices stretching from Greater Boston to Cape Cod and the Berkshires. It is headquartered at 28 State Street in Boston and has regional administration centers in Quincy, Hyannis, Woburn and Wakefield. It has more than 3,600 employees. Citizens Bank of Massachusetts is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $71 billion commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I. Citizens has more than 850 offices and approximately 1,700 ATMs, operating as Citizens Bank in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Citizens is one of the 20 largest commercial banks in the United States. It is owned by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc. Citizens' Web site is at www.citizensbank.com.

Statements in this press release about CRA's intended use of the $40 million credit facility and the Company's ability to pursue its growth opportunities may be considered "forward-looking" statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon management's current expectations and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties. Information contained in these forward-looking statements is inherently uncertain and actual performance and results may differ materially due to many important factors. Such factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements made by the Company include, among others, dependence on key personnel, attracting and retaining qualified consultants, dependence on outside experts, utilization rates, risks inherent in international operations, NeuCo's performance, management of new offices, dependence on growth of the Company's business consulting practice, the ability of the Company to successfully integrate new consultants into its practice, intense competition, and professional liability. Further information on these and other potential factors that could affect the Company's financial results is included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.