RBC Makes Acquisition in Asian Market

Strategic Move Expands Wealth Management Presence in Key Region

HONG KONG, November 8, 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 www.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.

    For further information: 

    Media Contacts: 

    US / Canada: Gillian McArdle, Telephone: +1-416-974-5506;
    Europe: Dafina Grapci-Penney, Telephone: +44(0)20-7680-5052;
    Asia: Ekaterina Alferova, Telephone: +852-3512-5093; 

    Investor Relations: 

    Josie Merenda, Telephone: +1-416-955-7803
    Karen McCarthy, Telephone: +1-416-955-7809

For further information: Media Contacts: US / Canada: Gillian McArdle, Telephone: +1-416-974-5506; Europe: Dafina Grapci-Penney, Telephone: +44(0)20-7680-5052; Asia: Ekaterina Alferova, Telephone: +852-3512-5093; Investor Relations: Josie Merenda, Telephone: +1-416-955-7803, Karen McCarthy, Telephone: +1-416-955-7809