RBC Centura Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada and Cincinnati, Ohio-based Provident Financial Group Inc. announced Thursday the signing of an agreement pursuant to which RBC Centura will acquire Provident’s Florida operations.

RBC is paying Provident a 10% premium to deposits. Based on deposit balances as of April 30, 2003, this represents approximately US$75 million in cash.

The deal is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by U.S. regulators. RBC says the transaction is expected to close in the fall of 2003 and be neutral to RBC’s earnings per share in 2004 and accretive in 2005.

The deal includes all of Provident’s operations in Florida including 13 branches, 16 ATMs and 135 employees serving 21,000 households in the Western Florida counties of Sarasota, Manatee and Hillsborough.

As of April 30, 2003, Provident’s Florida branches had a deposit balance of approximately US$750 million, loans of approximately US$350 million and assets under administration of approximately US$500 million.

Provident’s Florida branch network will operate under the RBC Centura brand name immediately following the completion of the transaction.

Because of its large and growing population base, Florida is strategic to RBC’s U.S. expansion program. “This acquisition supports RBC’s overall strategy of disciplined, affordable, add-on investments that represent value and make sense from strategic, economic and cultural perspectives,” said Kel Landis, chief executive officer of RBC Centura Bank.

The acquisition extends RBC Financial Group’s growing U.S. financial services platform.