RBC Announces Recipients of First RBC Royal Bank Scholarships for   New Canadians

Toronto, November 17, 2007 -- RBC demonstrated its ongoing support of new immigrants by recognizing and honoring the first recipients of its new RBC Royal Bank Scholarship for New Canadians at a dinner held in Toronto this evening. At the same time it also released details of a new survey on the financial goals of new Canadians.

RBC Award Recognizes Young People Who Have Been Through the Immigration Experience

Seven students from British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec were selected from among hundreds of applicants for their understanding of the role that immigration played in Canada's history as well as their commitment to educational excellence and desire to help others. Each of the winners, some of who arrived while in high school, others as small children, received $2,000. They came to Canada from India, China, and South Africa and have career aspirations in medicine, finance and the arts.

"RBC created this scholarship as a way to recognize the tenacity and dedication of some of our youngest new Canadians," said Mark Whitmell, director, Cultural Markets for RBC. "The willingness of our winners to share their personal experiences is worthy of recognition and we applaud their resourcefulness during a time of change in their lives."

The Winners of the RBC Royal Bank Scholarship for New Canadians for 2007 are:

Elaine Deng, age 18
Country of Origin: China
Hometown: Burnaby, British Columbia
Program: Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Vancouver
Ambition: Graphic Designer

Shradha Gaikwad, age 18
Country of Origin: India
Hometown: Mississauga, ON
Program: Business Administration, York University, Toronto
Ambition: Accounting, Finance or Economics

Aravind Ganesh, age 17
Country of Origin: Kerala, India
Hometown: Red Deer, Alberta
Program: Bachelor of Science (Biological Sciences), University of Calgary
Ambition: Medicine or research

Kate Greeff, age 18
Country of Origin: Cape Town, South Africa
Hometown: Lethbridge, Alberta
Program: Bachelor of Science (biochemistry),University of Lethbridge
Ambition: Health or education

Kimberly Koch, age 18
Country of Origin: Cape Town, South Africa
Hometown: Merrickville, Ontario
Program: Biochemistry, McGill University, Montreal
Ambition: Medical Research

Nischal Ranganath age 18
Country of Origin: India
Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario
Program: Bachelor of Health Science, McMaster University, Hamilton
Ambition: Medicine

Mo Zhu, age 18
Country of Origin: Qingdao, China
Hometown: Barrie, Ontario
Program: Commerce, Queen's University, Kingston
Ambition: Financial Analyst

Further information on award recipients along with details about the application deadline for 2008 is available at http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/scholarships/newcanadians/index.html

New Canadians Cite Saving for Their Children's Education as a Priority

At the same time it is recognizing immigrant students, RBC is also releasing the results of a new survey by Ipsos-Reid which shows that when it comes to financial goals, more new immigrants to Canada include saving for their children's education than saving for their own retirement or even paying down a mortgage.

Said Mr. Whitmell: "We have always believed that new Canadians consider their children's education as one of their greatest priorities but being able to quantify this knowledge makes us even more pleased to recognize accomplishments from among their children."

According to the survey, while most new immigrants (70 per cent) who have been in Canada 10 years or less are still focusing on having enough money to cover daily expenses, 46 per cent identify saving for their children's education as a financial goal for the next 12 months. This compares to 41 per cent who cite saving for retirement and paying down the mortgage (40 per cent).

"While covering day-to-day expenses is still top-of-mind for most, many new Canadians are already looking to the future and their children's education," noted Mr. Whitmell. "This didn't entirely surprise us as new Canadians are likely to have more education than the overall population. In fact, we learned 68 per cent have at least some university education."

"We initiated this study of immigrants who have been in Canada 10 years or less because one of our priorities is to ensure they are in the best position they can be to settle in Canada successfully," explained Mr. Whitmell. "Having a better appreciation of what matters most to newcomers gives us a better perspective on how we can help them achieve their goals faster and easier. The future success of Canada is clearly linked to their success and the success of their children."

The RBC survey shows the combined average top financial goals for the next 12 months of all immigrants to Canada, regardless of tenure or ethnicity, as:

· Day to day expenses: 70 per cent
· Saving for children’s education: 46 per cent
· Saving for retirement: 41 per cent
· Paying down the mortgage: 40 per cent
· Saving for a major purchase other than real estate or property: 37 per cent
· Saving in the event of illness or death in the family: 33 per cent
· Saving to buy a home (27 per cent)
· Saving for expenses relating to aging parents (22 per cent)
· Owning a business or saving for own education (20 per cent each)
· Paying down debts other than mortgage (19 per cent)
· Saving for or paying off home renovations (12 per cent)

The RBC survey shows the top five financial goals of new immigrants over the next 12 months by number of years in Canada as:

The top five financial goals of new immigrants over the next 12 months by ethnicity are:

For further information on financial goals of new immigrants, visit http://www.rbc.com/canada/index.html

About the Survey Methodology: These are the findings of an RBC /Ipsos Reid survey conducted between March 15 and April 30, 2007. The poll was based on a randomly selected sample of 1,000 new immigrants who are 18 years of age or older and have been in Canada for 10 years or less. With this sample size, the overall results are considered ±3.1 percentage points, 19 time out of 20, of what they would have been if all new immigrants had been surveyed. The survey was conducted by telephone and the interviews were held in Mandarin, Cantonese, Hindi, Punjabi, Korean, English and French. The findings were weighted to reflect the actual regional distribution and ethnic composition of new Canadians immigrating to Canada within the past 10 years.

For full tabular results, please see the Ipsos Reid website at www.ipsos.ca.

Media contacts: Niraj Sinha/Irene Tang, Dynasty Communications, (905) 907-6911, ext. 229/220