RBC’s Voyageur to acquire Access Capital Strategies

Strategic move expands Voyageur Asset Management’s Capabilities into Socially Responsible Investing

MINNEAPOLIS and BOSTON, June 2008 — Royal Bank of Canada (RY on NYSE and TSX) and Boston-based Access Capital Strategies, LLC (Access Capital) today announced the signing of a definitive acquisition agreement under which Voyageur Asset Management Inc. will acquire certain assets of Access Capital.

The details of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions and is expected to be completed by the third fiscal quarter 2008.

Founded in 1997, Access Capital operates as an independent SEC-registered investment adviser serving banks and related financial institutions, public pension funds, foundations, endowments and community trusts. The firm manages the Access Capital Strategies Community Investment Fund (Ticker: XACSX) which invests in debt securities that support community development serving low and moderate-income individuals and communities across the U.S. These activities include investment in home ownership, affordable housing, education, community health centers and small businesses. Access Capital has more than US$650 million in assets under management.

“Increasingly, clients are seeking investment opportunities that are consistent with their values,” said Mike Lee, president and chief investment officer of Voyageur, which has sub-advised the fund since 2006. “The Access Capital Community Investment Fund provides clients with the ability to target investments by income and region, pinpointing where their investment can make a positive impact in a community.”

Access Capital represents a strong strategic fit for Voyageur and helps RBC to build a U.S. presence and increase its activities in socially responsible investment assets. RBC is listed on the 2007-2008 Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which recognizes the world’s financial, social and environmental corporate leaders, as well as the Jantzi Social Index and the FTSE4Good Index.

“Access Capital and Voyageur have developed an innovative partnership combining extensive community investment expertise and fixed income portfolio management and I look forward to becoming a part of the Voyageur team and building on that success,” said Ron Homer, chief executive officer of Access Capital.

“Access Capital has built a strong reputation for effectively leveraging our clients’ assets through vital community investments without sacrificing total returns,” added David Sand, president and chief investment officer of Access Capital. “I’m excited to continue the Community Investment Fund’s 10-year history of serving our clients and communities as a part of the Voyageur organization.”

Certain statements contained in this press release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements under certain securities laws, including the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and in any applicable Canadian securities legislation, and Royal Bank of Canada intend that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor created thereby.
These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to statements with respect to the acquisition of Access Capital by Voyageur Asset Management. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “believe”, “expect”, “forecast”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “estimate”, “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 Access Capital by Voyageur Asset Management 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, shareholder or other approvals are not received or other conditions to the closing are not satisfied on a timely basis or at all, that the Voyageur and Access Capital 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 and competitive factors in the areas where Voyageur 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; Voyageur’s ability to complete the acquisition of Access Capital and to integrate it with Voyageur successfully; reputational risks, and other factors that may affect future results of Voyageur and Access Capital, 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 Royal Bank of Canada’s 2007 Annual Report.

Except as required by law, RBC, Voyageur and Access Capital assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.