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RBC/Fidelity Joint Venture Completed Royal Fidelity Now
in The Bahamas and Barbados
NASSAU, Bahamas (December 4, 2007) - Fidelity Bank
& Trust International Limited (Fidelity) and Royal Bank
of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE), today announced that RBC has
acquired a 50 per cent interest in Fidelity's wholly owned
Bahamas-based subsidiary, Fidelity Merchant Bank & Trust
Limited, to be called Royal Fidelity Merchant Bank & Trust
Limited (Royal Fidelity).
Royal Fidelity will provide corporate finance and advisory,
investment management, stock brokerage, share registrar and
transfer agency, pension and mutual fund administration services
to existing and new clients in The Bahamas and Barbados. As
part of the joint venture, RBC will transfer its Barbados
investment management and trust business to a Barbados subsidiary
of Royal Fidelity. Royal Fidelity will operate in The Bahamas
and Barbados with assets under management and administration
in excess of US$1 billion.
The combination of RBC and Fidelity establishes a one-stop
solution for medium- to large-sized corporate finance engagements.
Royal Fidelity clients will now be able to obtain corporate
finance services as well as corporate banking products, such
as bridge loans, project finance, and term loans, along with
wealth management, fiduciary and a wide range of other financial
services.
Both RBC and Fidelity will continue to operate their current
retail banking and other businesses in the region under their
respective brands. Michael A. Anderson, the former president
of Fidelity Merchant Bank & Trust, has been appointed
president of Royal Fidelity.
"Clients of the new Royal Fidelity will benefit from
RBC's financial strength and extensive experience and capabilities
in global capital markets and Fidelity's innovative corporate
finance and successful wealth management experience in the
Caribbean," Anderson said.
Anwer Sunderji, chairman and CEO of Fidelity, said, "Our
transformative partnership with RBC will accelerate the growth
of the merchant bank. Royal Fidelity will now not only be
the leading investment advisor and wealth management institution
in The Bahamas, but will also have a strong presence in Barbados."
"This transaction extends RBC's growing financial services
platform in the Caribbean, giving even greater access to the
fast growing merchant banking and corporate advisory sector
in the region," said Ross McDonald, head of Caribbean
banking, RBC. "We are impressed with Fidelity's merchant
banking operations and view this transaction to be strategically
important to our expansion in the Caribbean."
About Fidelity
Headquartered in The Bahamas, Fidelity Bank & Trust International
Limited is a privately held financial services group offering
a comprehensive range of both domestic and international banking,
insurance and other financial products and services in The
Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and the Turks & Caicos Islands
through 10 financial centres, served by over 200 employees.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries
operate under the master brand name of RBC. It is Canada's
largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization
and one of North America's leading diversified financial services
companies. RBC provides personal and commercial banking, wealth
management services, insurance, corporate and investment banking
and transaction processing services on a global basis. RBC's
corporate support team enables business growth with expert
professional advice and state-of-the art processes and technology.
It employs more than 70,000 full- and part-time employees
who serve more than 15 million personal, business, public
sector and institutional clients throughout offices in Canada,
the U.S. and 36 other countries.
Royal Bank of Canada has a longstanding presence in The Bahamas,
with operations dating back to 1908. Today, it boasts a retail
network of 24 branches throughout New Providence and the Family
Islands, a commercial banking business centre, and 38 automated
banking machines.
Royal Bank of Canada currently operates 44 branches, four
business centers and 69 automated banking machines in eight
Caribbean countries, with more than 1400 employees across
the region, including The Bahamas.
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Media Contacts:
RBC
Jan Knowles
jan.knowles@rbc.com
t. 356.8796
Fidelity Bank & Trust
Serena Williams
serena.williams@fidelitybahamas.com
t. 356 7764 ext 3143
Safe Harbor Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release may be
deemed to be forward-looking statements under certain securities
laws, including the "safe harbor" provisions of
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995 and in any applicable Canadian securities legislation,
and Royal Bank of Canada and Fidelity Bank & Trust International
Limited (Fidelity) intend that such forward-looking statements
be subject to the safe-harbor created thereby. Forward-looking
statements are typically identified by words such as "believe",
"expect", "forecast", "anticipate",
"intend", "estimate", "plan",
and "project" and similar expressions of future
or conditional verbs such as "will", "may",
"should", "could", or "would".
By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve
numerous assumptions, and inherent risks and uncertainties,
both general and specific, and risks exist that predictions,
forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements,
including statements about the joint venture between Fidelity
and RBC, will not be achieved. We caution readers not to place
undue reliance on these statements as a number of important
factors could cause our actual results to differ materially
from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations,
estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking
statements. These factors include, but are not limited to
the anticipated benefits of the transaction are not realized
as a result of such things as the strength of the economy
and competitive factors in the areas where Fidelity and RBC
do business; the impact of changes in the laws and regulations
regulating financial services and enforcement thereof (including
banking, insurance and securities); judicial judgments and
legal proceedings; RBC and Fidelity's ability to complete
the joint venture successfully; reputational risks, and other
factors that may affect future results of RBC and Fidelity
including changes in trade policies, timely development and
introduction of new products and services, changes in tax
laws, and technological and regulatory changes. We caution
that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive.
Unless required by law, RBC and Fidelity assume no obligation
to update the forward-looking statements contained in this
press release.
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