| |
RBC makes acquisition in Asian market
Strategic move expands wealth management presence in key region
HONG KONG, November 7, 2010 — Royal
Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE), announced the closing
of its acquisition of the wealth management business of Fortis
Wealth Management Hong Kong Limited, consisting of approximately
50 client-facing professionals. Fortis Wealth Management Hong
Kong Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortis Bank S.A./N.V.
The acquisition follows RBC Wealth Management's announcement
in September that it will be increasingly focused on emerging,
high growth markets such as Asia.
"Fortis Bank's Hong Kong operations are a strong strategic
and cultural fit for RBC Wealth Management's international
platform and this acquisition expands our presence in Asia,
a market that we have identified as a key priority,"
said Michael Lagopoulos, deputy chairman, RBC Wealth Management.
"Moreover, RBC is a leading provider of banking and wealth
management services to a substantial Asian population in Canada,
which totals more than one million people, and we see significant
opportunities to capitalize on the increasing flow of trade
and immigration between the regions."
Frank Mu, CEO of RBC Wealth Management, Asia, added: "The
acquisition of Fortis Wealth Management Hong Kong Limited's
staff and client book reflects RBC Wealth Management's commitment
to enhancing our operations in Asia, both organically and
through acquisition. We will be looking to hire a number of
client-facing professionals over the coming months to support
our growing franchise."
"As a top 10 global wealth manager, we see a tremendous
opportunity for growth in Asia and emerging markets,"
said George Lewis, group head of RBC Wealth Management. "This
acquisition will enable us to bring the best of RBC and RBC
Wealth Management to more clients as we continue to expand
internationally."
RBC now employs approximately 550 people in the Asia-Pacific
region across its Wealth Management and Capital Markets businesses,
in Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Brunei, Beijing and Sydney.
RBC plans to continue growing its global footprint over the
next five years.
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, and
among the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization.
We are one of North America's leading diversified financial
services companies, and provide personal and commercial banking,
wealth management services, insurance, corporate and investment
banking and transaction processing services on a global basis.
We employ approximately 78,000 full- and part-time employees
who serve close to 18 million personal, business, public sector
and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S.
and 51 other countries. For more information, please visit
rbc.com.
About RBC Wealth Management
The international arm of RBC Wealth Management services over
35,000 high net worth individuals and institutions through
more than 30 offices in the British Isles, Continental Europe,
Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Latin America and North
America. 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 RBC Wealth Management 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. For more information, please visit www.rbcwminternational.com.
RBC Wealth Management directly serves affluent and high net
worth clients in Canada, the United States, Latin America,
Europe and Asia. 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 RBC Wealth Management 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. RBC Wealth Management has more
than C$500 billion of assets under administration, over C$250
billion of assets under management and more than 4,300 financial
consultants, advisors, private bankers and trust officers.
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 the wealth
management business of Fortis Wealth Management Hong Kong
Limited ("Fortis") by RBC. Forward-looking statements
are typically identified by words such as "believe",
"expect", "foresee", "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 or conclusions
and other forward-looking information, including statements
about the acquisition of the wealth management business of
Fortis by RBC, will not prove to be accurate or that our assumptions
may not be correct. 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 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 the wealth management
business of Fortis 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; reputational risks,
and other factors that may affect future results of RBC 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 our Q3 2010
Report to Shareholders and 2009 Annual Report.
Except as required by law, RBC assumes no obligation to update
the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.
- 30 -
Media Contacts:
US / Canada: Gillian McArdle, 416 974 5506
Europe: Dafina Grapci-Penney, +44 020 7680 5052
Asia: Ekaterina Alferova, +852-3512-5093
Investor Relations:
Josie Merenda, 416-955-7803
Karen McCarthy, 416-955-7809
|
|
