RBC's international wealth management business appoints leadership team in
Asia

TORONTO , Oct. 6 /CNW/ - The international arm of RBC Wealth Management, headquartered in London and part of the Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE), Canada's largest bank and among the largest banks in the world, has announced the appointments of Matthew Yong and Frank Mu as President and CEO respectively of its Asia operations and the unification of its Asian operations under one umbrella "RBC Wealth Management, Asia."

Yong will be responsible for sales and distribution activities in Asia. Mu will continue to lead the advisory team, while also focusing on client solution support (including trust, discretionary investment management, investment advisory and credit) and functional support (including operations, information technology, human resources, finance, risk and compliance).

Yong is based in Singapore and Mu is based in Hong Kong . These locations form RBC Wealth Management's main hubs in the region. RBC Wealth Management also has a representative office in Beijing and a branch in Brunei.

Yong and Mu both report to Doug Gunton, Head of Asia and Canadian International Centres, RBC Wealth Management. Commenting on the new appointments within RBC Wealth Management's Asian operations, Gunton said: "Matthew and Frank are exceptional leaders and we have a strong team in place to serve the integrated wealth management needs of high net worth and ultra high net worth families in Asia. Asia is a high growth region and a key priority for RBC Wealth Management's international wealth management business."

Gunton continued: "We believe that our value proposition is unique. We offer clients the strength and stability Canada's largest bank coupled with a North American capability that is delivered from the key Asian financial centres of Singapore and Hong Kong . In addition, we are extremely well-placed to capitalize on the affinity between Canada and Asia, in terms of increasing flows of trade and immigration between the regions. We remain committed to our clients in the region, and also to those Asian clients who bank with RBC Wealth Management in the Canadian International Centres, which comprise Toronto , Montreal and Vancouver ."

Mike Lagopoulos, head of the international arm of RBC Wealth Management, said: "Asia is one of our strategic areas for expansion, given the increasing numbers of high net worth clients in the region and their desire to deal with a strong Canadian-based global institution for all of their international wealth management needs. As one of the world's top 20 wealth managers, we are uniquely positioned to provide high net worth and ultra high net worth individuals in Asia with integrated wealth management services, offering banking and credit, investment advisory, investment management and trust solutions."

About RBC Wealth Management

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 . RBC Wealth Management provides integrated and diversified international wealth management expertise and solutions, asset management and trust services to high net worth and ultra high net worth individuals and to corporate and institutional clients around the world. 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, a segment of RBC, directly serves affluent and high net worth clients and provides asset management products and services to institutional and individual clients through its RBC Global Asset Management division. The business has more than C$490 billion of assets under administration, nearly C$240 billion of assets under management and more than 4,500 financial consultants, advisors, private bankers and trust officers. RBC Wealth Management was recognized as the Best North American based Wealth Manager by Private Banker International in October 2009 .

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 approximately 80,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than 18 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada , the U.S. and 53 other countries. For more information, please visit www.rbc.com.

For further information: Media Enquiries: Greentarget, London, Anna Watson, Phillippa Cantrill, Telephone: [phone]; RBC Wealth Management, Sanam Alaghband, Beverley Weber, Telephone: [phone], + 44 (0)20 7029 7685