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RBC donates $500,000 to Caribbean hurricane relief
Initiatives support Red Cross, Bahamas and Cayman relief efforts
Toronto, September 20, 2004 - RBC Financial Group is donating $500,000 to hurricane relief efforts throughout the Caribbean, which has been devastated by Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. A donation of $250,000 goes to the Canadian Red Cross 2004 Hurricane Relief Appeal, and $250,000 directly to relief funds in the Bahamas and Cayman Islands.
In addition to financial support, RBC has provided aid to employees in the worst affected areas by chartering private planes to fly in relief supplies.
"The recent hurricanes have had a devastating impact on our clients, our employees and their communities," said Gordon M. Nixon, president and chief executive officer, RBC Financial Group. "I am extremely proud of the extraordinary efforts of our employees in the Caribbean in helping their communities and clients. RBC wants to support them and their communities in the rebuilding process."
Canadians who want to assist can make donations to the 2004 Hurricane Relief Appeal at any RBC Royal Bank branch in Canada. Funds will be used to provide relief items such as food, clean water, shelter materials, blankets, clothing, kitchen sets, generators, portable warehouses and plastic water containers on an urgent basis where the need is greatest including the countries of Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Trinidad and Tobago.
"Our immediate objective in the Cayman Islands was to get back to business as usual, but with power and water still cut off throughout much of the island and many of our staff without homes, it has been an enormous challenge," said Ross McDonald, head of Caribbean Banking. "We have re-opened our main branch in George Town and have enough fuel to run on emergency power for a couple of weeks. Several of our staff who lost their homes are living there temporarily."
"We continue to support fundraising efforts and were able to fly relief supplies in to Freeport, Bahamas and Grand Cayman," said Mike Lagopoulos, head of Global Private Banking. "Some of our employees and local residents have lost their houses and all personal property. Its an incredibly challenging time for them and we are grateful for the opportunity to help out where we can."
In addition to the donation to the Red Cross, RBC Royal Bank of Canada contributed $US150,000 to the Bahamas Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund following Hurricane Frances and $US32,000 to the Cayman Islands in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan.
An account has also been opened at RBC's Ottawa Bank & Queen branch in the name of the Bahamas Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund and donations sent there by Canadians will be transferred to the appeal account at RBC in Nassau.
About RBC in the Caribbean
Royal Bank of Canada has had a presence in the Caribbean for over 100 years and currently has offices in Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and St. Lucia. RBC's Caribbean operations are part of RBC's U.S. and International business and have 1,190 employees.
About RBC Financial Group
Royal Bank of Canada (RY: TSX, NYSE) uses the initials RBC as a prefix for its businesses and operating subsidiaries, which operate under the master brand name of RBC Financial Group. Royal Bank of Canada is Canada's largest bank as measured by market capitalization and assets, and is one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies. The company employs 60,000 people who serve more than 12 million personal, business and public sector clients through offices in North America and some 30 countries around the world. For more information, please visit www.rbc.com.
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For more information please contact:
Nigel Napier-Andrews, RBC Corporate Communications
(416) 974-2805
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