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RBC to acquire Mourant Private Wealth
JERSEY, Channel Islands, December 19, 2008 —
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) - RY on NYSE and TSX - today announced
it has signed an agreement to acquire Mourant Private Wealth,
the 47 employee private client trust business of Mourant Limited
(Mourant), whose group of businesses includes one of the leading
offshore law firms Mourant du Feu & Jeune. Mourant Private
Wealth is based in Jersey with operations in Dubai and Cayman.
Completion of the transaction remains subject to regulatory
approval but is expected to close in early 2009. Terms of
the transaction were not disclosed.
In the British Isles, RBC Wealth Management employs just
under 1500 staff and has assets under administration of £63
billion. The acquisition of Mourant Private Wealth is expected
to add more than £3.5 billion in assets under administration
to RBC Wealth Management.
RBC Wealth Management is recognized as the leading provider
of trust services in the British Isles - RBC was voted Number
One Trust Services Provider in the UK in Euromoney's Private
Banking Awards, 2008, 2007, 2006. With the completion of this
latest acquisition, RBC Wealth Management will have over 800
trust professionals.
Paul Patterson, Head of RBC Wealth Management, British Isles,
said "Mourant Private Wealth brings to RBC Wealth Management
a dedicated focus on trust, experienced professionals and
a terrific cultural fit and philosophy."
"This transaction advances our long-term strategy to
build further on our core business of integrated private wealth
management services to international clients by hiring experienced
professionals with strong client relationships," said
Mr. Patterson. "We believe that the wealth management
sector will continue to be a growing market in the years ahead
as global economies develop and populations mature, which
will present many opportunities for our clients, our people
and our shareholders."
Nicola Davies, Group CEO, Mourant, said "We have enjoyed
a close working relationship with RBC for over 45 years. This
transaction is a good solution for the clients and employees
of Mourant Private Wealth by giving them access to RBC's global
network and international wealth management expertise."
This transaction is the latest in a series of deals completed
by RBC as it continues to build its international presence.
The acquisition of Mourant Private Wealth follows RBC Wealth
Management's successful acquisitions of Ernst & Young's
trust businesses in Jersey and Guernsey in January 2000 and
the acquisition of Abacus Financial Services Group Limited
in Jersey, Guernsey, London, Edinburgh and Cheltenham in November
2005.
About RBC Wealth Management
With approximately C$500 billion of global assets under administration
and C$220 billion of global assets under management, RBC Wealth
Management provides integrated and diversified international
wealth management expertise and solutions, asset management
and trust services to high net worth individuals and to corporate
and institutional clients. Services provided by our more than
4,000 consultants, advisors, private bankers and trust officers
include trust and estate planning, tax advice, discretionary
investment management and investment advisory services, structured
solutions, banking, lending and global custody. The international
arm of RBC Wealth Management services over 35,000 high net
worth individuals and institutions through 35 offices in the
British Isles, Continental Europe, Asia, the Middle East,
the Caribbean, Latin America and North America. For more information,
please visit www.rbcwminternational.com.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries
operate under the master brand name RBC. We are Canada's largest
bank as measured by assets and market capitalization, one
of North America's leading diversified financial services
companies and among the largest banks in the world, as measured
by market capitalization. We provide personal and commercial
banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate
and investment banking and transaction processing services
on a global basis. We employ more than 80,000 full- and part-time
employees who serve more than 17 million personal, business,
public sector and institutional clients through offices in
Canada, the U.S. and 48 other countries. For more information,
please visit www.rbc.com.
About Mourant
Mourant is a multi-disciplinary, international professional
services group, specializing in private wealth services, offshore
law and fund and corporate administration. Mourant currently
has offices in Cayman, Dubai, Dublin, Guernsey, Hong Kong,
Jersey, London, Luxembourg, New York, San Francisco and Singapore.
Mourant Private Wealth is a multi-award winning international
provider of private wealth trust and company administration
and other value added services to the global market of high
net worth individuals.
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For more information, please contact:
Beverley Weber, RBC Head of Communications, Europe & Asia
Tel: +44 (0)20 7029 7685, beverley.weber@rbc.com
Marcia Moffat, RBC Head of Investor Relations
Tel: + (1) 416-955-7803, marcia.moffat@rbc.com
Or visit the site: www.rbc.com/investorrelations
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 harbour" provisions of
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995 and in any applicable Canadian securities legislation,
and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) intends that such forward-looking
statements be subject to the safe-harbour created thereby.
These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited
to, statements with respect to the acquisition of Mourant
Private Wealth by RBC. 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 Mourant Private Wealth by 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 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 Mourant Limited and RBC 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, including the impact of the continuing
volatility in the financial markets and lack of liquidity
in credit markets, and competitive factors in the areas where
Mourant Private Wealth 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; RBC's
ability to complete the acquisition of Mourant Private Wealth
and to integrate it with RBC successfully; reputational risks,
and other factors that may affect future results of RBC and
Mourant Private Wealth, 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 RBC's 2008 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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