                                                                      Exhibit 99
                                                                      ----------

PRESS RELEASE
-------------

Stockholders of Admiralty Bancorp, Inc. Approve Merger Agreement with Royal Bank
of Canada

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA, December 13, 2002.....Admiralty Bancorp, Inc.,
(NASDAQ NM: AAAB), parent company of Admiralty Bank, announced that at a special
meeting of stockholders held today, Admiralty's stockholders approved the
Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of August 29, 2002, as amended and
supplemented (the "Merger Agreement"), among Admiralty, Royal Bank of Canada
(TSE, NYSE:RY) and RBC Centura Banks, Inc. and the resulting merger by which
Admiralty will become a wholly owned subsidiary of RBC Centura.

Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, RBC Centura will acquire all of the
outstanding shares of Admiralty for US$26 per share, valuing the deal at
approximately US$150 million.

The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions,
including the receipt of regulatory approvals, and is expected to occur in
January 2003.

About Admiralty Bancorp
-----------------------

Admiralty Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ NM:AAAB) is the parent company for Admiralty
Bank. Admiralty Bank is a Florida-chartered commercial bank operating through
its main office in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and nine branch offices located
in Altamonte Springs, Boca Raton, Cocoa Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Juno Beach,
Jupiter, Melbourne and Orlando, Florida. The Bank is a full-service financial
institution, catering to the needs of businesses, professionals, and private
banking clients.

About RBC Centura
-----------------

RBC Centura delivers a wide range of financial services and advice, including a
complete line of banking, investment, insurance, leasing and asset management
services, to individuals and businesses in North Carolina, South Carolina,
Virginia and Georgia. RBC Centura's multifaceted customer access network
includes more than 240 full-service financial offices, an extensive ATM network,
telephone and Internet banking. RBC Centura is a brand name used by RBC Centura
Banks, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE, TSE: RY).
Additional information may be found at WWW.RBCCENTURA.COM.

About RBC
---------

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE, NYSE: RY) 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 financial
institution 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. RBC
employs 60,000 people who serve more than 12 million personal, business and
public sector customers in North America and in some 30 countries around the
world. For more information, please visit www.rbc.com (HTTP://WWW.RBC.COM).

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined under
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company desires to take
advantage of the "safe harbor" provisions of Section 21E and is including this
statement for the express purpose of availing itself of the protection of the
safe harbor with respect to all such forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements
<PAGE>

describe future plans or strategies and may include the Company's expectations
of future financial results. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate,"
"estimate," "project," and similar expressions identify forward-looking
statements. The Company's ability to predict results or the effect of future
plans or strategies or qualitative or quantitative changes based on market risk
exposure is inherently uncertain. Factors which could affect actual results
include but are not limited to i) changes in general market interest rates, ii)
general economic conditions, both in the United States generally and
specifically in the Company's market area, iii) legislative/regulatory changes,
iv) monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve,
v) changes in the quality or composition of the Company's loans and investment
portfolios, vi) demand for loan products, vii) deposit flows, viii) competition,
ix) demand for financial services in the Company's markets, and x) the timing of
closing of the pending acquisition by RBC Centura and the expenses related
thereto. These factors should be considered in evaluating the forward-looking
statements, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements.


Contact information:
        Investor Relations:  Barbara Moore
        Treasurer:  Kevin M. Sacket
        561.624.4701




