Wednesday, October 24, 2001

Contacts: For UNCW

Chris Clapp, Director of Development

910-962-3214 E-mail: clappc@uncwil.edu

For RBC Centura Banks Inc.:

Verna Gessaman

252-937-1700 vgessaman@centura.com

Wilmington, N.C. - The Cameron School of Business at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) today announced the establishment of the RBC Centura Scholarships.

RBC Centura Banks, Inc., a $12 billion-asset financial services company based in North Carolina, has pledged $50,000 over five years to support two $2,500 annual scholarships (the approximate cost of in-state tuition and fees) and the establishment of one endowed scholarship. UNCW will award the first scholarships in the fall of 2002. The honors scholarships will be designated for business majors attending UNCW from regions in North Carolina that RBC Centura serves.

Announcing the scholarships, Dean Larry Clark stated, “The RBC Centura Scholarships will permit two outstanding business majors to earn an education at UNCW. In designating that recipients be from the Centura Bank service region, Centura supports both the customer base it serves and UNCW.”

“Our commitment to our communities is very important to us,” said Scott Custer, president of RBC Centura based in Rocky Mount, N.C. “The ability to combine this donation with education at such an important university makes us truly proud. UNCW is an asset to the community as well as to the students it serves.”

About RBC Centura Bank, Inc.

RBC Centura Banks Inc., a $12 billion-asset financial services company based in North Carolina, provides a complete line of banking, investment, insurance, leasing and asset management services to individuals and businesses in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. RBC Centura's broad range of financial solutions is provided through more than 240 full-service financial offices and Centura Highway, the bank's multifaceted customer access system that includes telephone banking, an extensive ATM network, PC banking, online bill payment and the bank's suite of Internet products and services. Centura Bank is a unit of Royal Bank of Canada. RBC Centura is a trade name used by Centura Bank. Additional information may be found at www.centura.com.

About the UNCW Cameron School of Business

Founded in 1979, UNCW’s Cameron School of Business is among the nation’s top regional business schools. All bachelor’s and master’s degree programs are fully accredited by AACSB International -- The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the nation’s premier business school accrediting organization. This distinction is significant because of the 1,200 schools of business throughout the United States, only about one-third are AACSB-accredited. More than 1,500 student majors are enrolled in the Cameron School of Business and are taught by a full-time faculty of 57 members. Students may select from eight bachelor’s degree programs – accounting, economics, finance, international business, management, management information systems, marketing, and operations management. The school offers a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Accountancy. For more information, see http://www.csb.uncwil.edu.