June 18, 2004 TORONTO – RBC Financial Group today announced it has established a formal process to review claims for costs or losses incurred as a result of its recent processing disruption. This is in addition to steps RBC is currently taking to minimize the impact for those affected during the
processing disruption, including the reversal of bank service charges and interest fees caused by the disruption, and the refunding of certain other charges and fees.
“With the processing disruption behind us, our primary objective now is to make it right for those who were directly impacted,” said Gordon Nixon, president and chief executive officer of RBC Financial Group. “I want to thank those who were inconvenienced for their patience and understanding, and once again offer them my sincere apology.”
RBC has begun to automatically reverse, wherever possible, banking service charges, fees, and overdraft interest that RBC clients may have been charged as a result of the recent processing disruption. RBC expects the vast majority of necessary adjustments will be completed by June 30. After June 30, if clients see a charge due to the processing disruption that has not been corrected, they should contact their branch, business centre, or call 1-800-ROYAL 1-1 (1-800-769-2511).
RBC has agreed to reimburse other Canadian financial institutions for certain banking charges their clients have incurred as a result of the processing disruption and appreciates the cooperation provided. These clients should contact their own financial institution if they have any questions or concerns about reversal of banking charges or to address any other issues they may have. “We believe the steps we are taking to reimburse all banking related charges that resulted from the processing disruption will address the concerns of the vast majority of those who have been affected,” said Nixon. “However, we recognize that these measures may not address all circumstances and we want to ensure that special situations are dealt with in a fair and timely manner.”
To manage such situations, RBC has retained the services of Crawford Adjusters Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of Crawford & Company, one of the world’s largest providers of claims management solutions. Crawford will act as claims administrator for non-banking related costs and losses that may have been incurred by clients of RBC and other financial institutions as a result of RBC’s processing disruption of May 31 to June 4, 2004.
Effective June 21, 2004, clients of RBC or other financial institutions can obtain a Claim Form from any RBC Royal Bank branch, business centre, or by calling 1-800-ROYAL 1-1 (1-800-769 2511). A Claim Form can also be downloaded in PDF format from www.rbc.com/clientnews/. RBC clients with claims up to $100 can present their completed Claim Form and supporting documentation to any RBC Royal Bank branch for processing there.
RBC clients with claims of more than $100, and clients of other financial institutions for all claim amounts, should mail their completed Claim Form and supporting documentation to:
RBC Processing Service Disruption: Redress and Claims Process
Claims Administrator
P.O. Box 517
Waterloo, Ontario,
N2J 4A9
Alternatively, completed Claim Forms and supporting documentation may be delivered to any RBC Royal Bank branch or business centre for forwarding to the claims administrator.
Further information regarding the RBC Processing Disruption Redress and Claims Process is available at www.rbc.com/clientnews/ and will be further communicated through advertisements in selected Canadian daily and community newspapers over the next week.
Royal Bank of Canada uses the initials RBC as a prefix for its businesses and operating subsidiaries, which operate under the master brand name of RBC Financial Group. Royal Bank of Canada is Canada’s largest bank as measured by market capitalization and assets, and is one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies. It provides personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate and investment banking, and transaction processing services on a global basis. The company employs 60,000 people who serve more than 12 million personal, business, and public sector clients through offices in North America and some 30 countries around the world. For more information, please visit www.rbc.com.
Crawford Adjusters Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of Crawford & Company, the world�s largest independent provider of claims management solutions to insurance companies and selfinsured entities, with a global network of more than 700 offices in 67 countries. Major service lines include workers� compensation claims administration and healthcare management services, property and casualty claims management, class action services and risk management information services. The Company�s shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbols CRDA and CRDB.
