ROCKY MOUNT, N.C., March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Centura Banks, Inc.
(NYSE: CBC) today announced that its board of directors has declared a second-
quarter 2001 cash dividend of $.36 per share and officially rescinded the
company's share repurchase program as part of its agreement to be acquired by
Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE, TSE: RY).
The dividend, which is payable May 4, 2001, to shareholders of record
April 24, 2001, represents a 5.9 percent increase over the dividend paid for
the second quarter of 2000 and marks the 34th consecutive year in which
Centura has increased its dividend.
At the same time, the board officially rescinded Centura's 1.5-million-
share repurchase program announced in September of 2000. The company, which
repurchased approximately 552,000 shares under the program, hasn't been active
in the market since December-2000, and was precluded from repurchasing its own
stock as part of its agreement to be acquired by Royal Bank of Canada.
About Centura
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. 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. In January, the
company announced a definitive agreement to be acquired by Royal Bank of
Canada in a transaction in which each Centura share will be exchanged for
1.684 shares of Royal Bank. The transaction is expected to close by mid-
summer. Additional information may be found on Centura's Website at
http://www.centura.com.
Safe Harbor
Statements made in this press release, other than those containing
historical information, are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the
safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995.
These include statements about Centura, including descriptions of plans or
objectives of its management for future operations, products or services, and
forecasts of its revenues, earnings or other measures of economic performance.
Such statements reflect current views, but are based on assumptions and are
subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause results to
differ materially from those set forth in such statements. Those factors
include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) expected cost savings from
completed mergers may not be fully realized or costs or difficulties related
to the integration of the businesses of Centura and merged institutions may be
greater than expected; (ii) customer and deposit attrition, or revenue loss,
following completed mergers may be greater than expected; (iii) competitive
pressure in the banking industry may increase significantly; (iv) changes in
the interest rate environment may reduce margins; (v) general economic
conditions, either nationally or regionally, may be less favorable than
expected, resulting in, among other things, credit quality deterioration and
the possible impairment of collectibility of loans; (vi) the impact of changes
in monetary and fiscal policies, laws, rules and regulations; (vii) the impact
of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999; (viii) changes in business conditions
and inflation; and (ix) other risks and factors identified in Centura's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory
bodies.
SOURCE Centura Banks, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.centura.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/870954.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 870954
CONTACT:
Steven J. Goldstein, Chief Financial Officer
of Centura Banks, Inc., 252-454-8356, or sgoldstein@centura.com
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