Our RBC U.S. and International Personal and Business segment is comprised of our non-Canadian personal and business banking and wealth management businesses. It includes RBC Centura (personal and business banking in the U.S.), Caribbean banking, RBC Dain Rauscher (U.S. wealth management) and Global Private Banking.

In 2005, our businesses focused on building our strengths in banking and wealth management in the U.S. and the Caribbean and private banking globally.

The following 2005 highlights demonstrate our focus on enhancing performance, investing in activities integral to our future growth, and leveraging our product, service and distribution strengths to meet the needs of our clients.

Wealth Management
Wealth Management is comprised of RBC Dain Rauscher in the U.S., with 140 branch offices in 40 states, and Global Private Banking (GPB), with 30 offices in 21 countries around the globe. RBC Dain Rauscher’s financial consultants offer investment advisory and asset management services to individuals and business owners. RBC Dain Rauscher also delivers clearing and execution services to small and mid-sized independent broker-dealers across the U.S. Internationally, GPB provides high net worth individuals and corporate and institutional clients with private banking and credit, trust services, discretionary investment management, full-service brokerage and global custody and fund administration.

RBC Dain Rauscher
In 2005, RBC Dain Rauscher grew assets in fee-based programs by 24 per cent. We also launched several new initiatives to meet the needs of our clients. For example, our clients’ need for more sophisticated retirement income planning led us to launch our Converting Wealth to Income initiative. This approach helps clients in their pre-retirement years develop strategies for creating a steady stream of income during their retirement, while addressing issues such as longevity, withdrawal rates and inflation.

In partnership with GPB, we introduced the RBC Premier Line of Credit, designed to meet the complex credit needs of our high net worth clients. This revolving line of credit, which is secured by one or more of a client’s eligible investment accounts, gives clients the opportunity to borrow money for their personal needs without selling their investments or disrupting their existing investment strategy. GPB has approved over US$400 million in credit lines with US$250 million in credit outstanding as of October 31, 2005.

Global Private Banking
In 2005, we expanded in the Americas by opening representative offices in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and San Francisco, and by establishing an International Client Group consisting of 25 international private banking and investment specialists in Vancouver. This group provides a range of wealth management and banking solutions to non-resident clients active in Asia Pacific markets, as well as Canadian citizens living and working abroad.

We also introduced an integrated wealth management model, including the designation of a primary relationship manager for each of our high net worth clients. This relationship model provides clients with a single point of contact for dealing with us, allowing us to develop a deeper understanding of our clients’ needs over time.

Our high net worth clients have the full benefit of our broad organizational strengths. For example, the structured product capability of RBC Capital Markets has given our clients access to innovative, customer-designed solutions. In addition to structured notes, GPB clients have access to commodities hedging, alternative assets and equities products through our New York and London desks. In 2005, sales of these products generated US$700 million in new assets.

Banking
Personal and business banking is comprised of RBC Centura, with 273 branches in the Southeast U.S., and our network of 42 branches in eight Caribbean countries. RBC Centura continues to serve its personal clients, with a special focus on meeting the needs of businesses, business owners and professionals. Caribbean banking is building upon its 100-year history by focusing on deepening its client relationships.

RBC Centura
RBC Centura significantly improved business performance in 2005 by focusing on growing loans and deposits, which increased by 16 per cent and 9 per cent, in U.S. dollars, respectively, over 2004. At the same time, we reduced costs by streamlining our support functions. In 2005, we selectively opened eight branches in high-growth markets and closed several less-profitable branches.

Our commercial banking business grew deposits by 28 per cent and increased loans by 18 per cent, in U.S. dollars, by addressing local client demand and making several enhancements to our suite of commercial and small business products and services. For example, we now offer longer-term mortgages on owner-occupied real estate at fixed rates to small business owners.

In 2005, we refinanced one of the largest real estate transactions in Raleigh, NC, with US$105 million refinanced. In addition, our commercial markets teams in Atlanta and Toronto partnered to close an important credit facility for a major commercial client, who plans to expand into Canada in the next 12 months.

In taking a focused approach to our core U.S. business of banking and wealth management, we announced and completed the sale of certain assets of RBC Mortgage Company to Home123 Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of New Century Mortgage Corporation. We continue to provide mortgage services in the Southeast U.S. to our clients through RBC Centura. We expanded our in-branch mortgage business at RBC Centura, nearly doubling origination volume to US$982 million.

Caribbean banking
In the Caribbean we operate under the brand name RBC Royal Bank of Canada, where our strategy is to grow organically by building on our strong presence in the region and by offering a superior full-service banking experience. In 2005, improved sales management processes contributed to strong revenue growth.