RBC Capital Markets Expands International Oil and Gas Team 

London, October 21, 2008 - RBC Capital Markets, the corporate and investment banking arm of Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE), today announced that it has further strengthened its Global Investment Banking business with the appointment of David Gair as Senior Adviser to its oil and gas team in London.

 

Gair joins RBC Capital Markets from BP, where he was head of M&A for global exploration and production.  At RBC Capital Markets, he will focus on business development in the oil and gas sector.

 

Patrick Meier, Managing Director & Head of Investment Banking, Europe said: "David's many years of experience, together with his specialised knowledge of the oil and gas sector, significantly enhances our position and further demonstrates the build-out of our international energy business. We are delighted to welcome such a widely respected industry figure to RBC Capital Markets.

"This new hire is further proof that RBC's strength and stability, evidenced by its Tier 1 capital ratio of 9.5% and coupled with the announcement that Canada has been named by the World Economic Forum as having the world's soundest banking system, is proving to be attractive to high quality candidates, clients looking for a strong partner, and investors."

 
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Media Enquiries:

Greentarget, London
Anna Watson / Phillippa Cantrell
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7680 5052 / 5063

 

RBC Capital Markets
Louisa Fairman / Beverley Weber

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7029 7821 / 7685

 

About RBC's Energy business
RBC Capital Markets is a leading adviser and financier to the oil & gas sector. Our 165 dedicated energy professionals, located in Canada, the United States and Europe provide in-depth industry knowledge and transaction execution capabilities (corporate finance, M&A, equity and debt, research, sales and trading) to the world's leading energy companies across the entire sector including upstream exploration & production, oil field services, pipelines, MLPs and refining & marketing. RBC's equity research covers more than 200 energy companies. RBC was awarded 'Buyside Mandate of the Year 2008' by Private Equity News for its involvement in the acquisition of oil services group Expro by Candover.

About RBC
RBC (RY on TSX and NYSE) is Canada's largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalisation (market capitalisation of C$62 billion as at 12/9/08). RBC is the 5th largest financial institution in North America and ranks among the top 25 banks in the world (#15 as at 12/9/08). RBC has over 75,000 employees globally, serving more than 16 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in 47 countries around the world. RBC has a solid liquidity position and is well positioned relative to its peers. RBC's Tier 1 capital ratio of 9.5% is well above most global financial institutions and its senior debt ratings are among the highest of financial institutions globally: S&P AA- (stable); Moody's Aaa (stable); Fitch AA. RBC was named "2007 Bank of the Year" in Canada by The Banker. RBC has been named the safest bank in Canada and 3rd safest in North America (Global Finance 1999-2007). For more information, please visit www.rbc.com