RBC to acquire commercial leasing division of ABN AMRO Bank
N.V. - Canada Branch
Expands and strengthens Canadian commercial leasing business
TORONTO, August 7, 2008 — Royal Bank of Canada
(RY on TSX and NYSE) today announced that it has entered into
a definitive agreement to purchase ABN AMRO's Canadian commercial
leasing division. The details of the transaction were not
disclosed.
"With this acquisition, we will gain a strong, well-managed
business that is complementary to our current leasing capabilities,"
said Allen Barabas, head, Global Transaction Solutions. "The
deal will expand RBC's presence in the Canadian commercial
leasing business, which is an important component of our overall
commercial business growth strategy."
RBC Leasing is the largest bank-owned commercial leasing
business in Canada, operating in major urban centres from
Halifax to Victoria.
"We are delighted that our clients of the Leasing Division
are moving to a quality organization like RBC," said
Lawrence J. Maloney, country executive officer of ABN AMRO's
Canadian operations. "The clients will continue to enjoy
the best-in-class service they have been accustomed to receiving
from ABN AMRO."
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other
customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the
fall of 2008.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries
operate under the master brand name of RBC. We are Canada's
largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization
and one of North America's leading diversified financial services
companies. We provide personal and commercial banking, wealth
management services, insurance, corporate and investment banking
and transaction processing services on a global basis. We
employ approximately 75,000 full- and part-time employees
who serve more than 16 million personal, business, public
sector and institutional clients throughout offices in Canada,
the U.S. and 45 other countries around the world. For more
information, please visit www.rbc.com.
About ABN AMRO Bank N.V.
ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Canada Branch provides its domestic and
international clients with a wide range of financial services
representing a significant cross-section of all offerings
from across the bank's network. Netherlands-based ABN AMRO
Bank N.V. is a leading international bank with total assets
of EUR 1,025.2 billion (as at 31 December 2007). It has more
than 4,000 branches in 53 countries, and has a staff of more
than 99,000 full-time equivalents worldwide. ABN AMRO Bank
N.V. is a subsidiary undertaking of The Royal Bank of Scotland
plc.
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Media Contacts:
RBC
Beja Rodeck, Media Relations, (416) 974-5506, beja.rodeck@rbc.com
ABN AMRO
Jane M. Broski, Corporate Communications - North America,
(312) 338-3396, jane.broski@abnamro.com
Investor Relations Contact:
RBC
William Anderson, Investor Relations, (416) 955-7804, william.anderson@rbc.com
CAUTION 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 intends that such forward-looking
statements be subject to the safe-harbor created thereby.
These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited
to, statements with respect to the acquisition of ABN AMRO's
Canadian Leasing Division by Royal Bank of Canada. Forward-looking
statements are typically identified by words such as "believe",
"expect", "forecast", "anticipate",
"intend", "estimate", "goal",
"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 require
us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and
uncertainties, which give rise to the possibility that our
predictions, forecasts, projections, expectations and other
forward-looking information, including statements about the
acquisition of ABN AMRO's Canadian commercial leasing division
by Royal Bank of Canada 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 expectations expressed in such forward-looking
statements. These factors include, but are not limited to
the possibility that the proposed transaction does not close
when expected or at all because required regulatory or other
approvals are not received or other conditions to the closing
are not satisfied on a timely basis or at all, that ABN AMRO
Bank N.V. and Royal Bank of Canada may be required to modify
the terms and conditions of the proposed transaction to achieve
regulatory approval, or that 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 ABN AMRO's Canadian commercial leasing division
does 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; Royal Bank of Canada's ability to complete
the acquisition of ABN AMRO's Canadian commercial leasing
division and to integrate it with RBC successfully; reputational
risks, and other factors that may affect future results of
RBC and ABN AMRO's Canadian commercial leasing division, 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. Additional information
about these and other factors can be found in Royal Bank of
Canada's Q2 2008 Report to Shareholders and 2007 Annual Report.
Except as required by law, RBC assumes no obligation to update
the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.
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