COUTTS ANNOUNCES AMBITIOUS GROWTH PLANS FOR ASIA

28th April 2005

- Staff to increase by 25%

- Overall growth targeted at 25% for next year

Coutts Bank today announced ambitious growth plans for its Asian operations, on the back of its most successful year in 2004.

Celebrating 10 years in Singapore this week, Coutts is primed for an exciting growth phase that will see the bank increase its staff strength by 25% in 2005 to meet the increasing demand for its wealth management services throughout the region.

Paul Davies, CEO, Coutts Bank, Asia said, "In the first quarter of this year, we have hired 10% new staff in our Singapore and Hong Kong offices. We aim to increase this by a further 15% by the end of this year."

The most senior appointment was that of Richard Piliero as Head of Private Banking, South East Asia. Mr. Piliero joined Coutts in January after having led the American Express Private Bank in Singapore for the past eight years. Mr. Piliero’s focus is on growing the business in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

Ten years since it opened as a branch with a handful of private bankers, Coutts today employs more than 230 staff in Asia and is a key growth area for the bank. The Singapore office covers the South-East Asian countries of Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the South Asian sub-continent as well as Non-Resident Indians and expatriates across the region. From the Hong Kong office, the main markets are Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines.

Coutts has grown in leaps and bounds in Asia with increased employee numbers and by the breadth and sophistication of its product range. In 2005, Coutts Asia has launched both derivative and global property products that enhanced its product offering, simultaneously increasing its level of competitiveness with other private banks and providing clients in Asia with unique access to the global property market.

The tenth anniversary celebrations are supported by increased client entertainment, marketing activity and advertising presence. The crowning glory of the anniversary celebrations will be The Three Crowns Affair – a black tie gala dinner on 28th April 2005 where guests will be royally treated in a specially created setting in the Ritz-Carlton Millenia, one of the top hotels in Singapore. Attended by Coutts Chairman Lord Home, guests can expect ‘The Three Crowns’ – a night of royal-like British glamour, savouring a specially created champagne menu amidst an ambience of exuberant, classy entertainment throughout the evening.

"The Three Crowns Affair gives us an opportunity to thank clients and celebrate relationships we have built over the past decade," said Mr. Davies. "As we enter our second decade in Asia, the cornerstones of our success – confidentiality, personal service, performance – continue to serve as pillars that have attracted and continue to attract the most discerning clients."

For further information, please contact:

Haider Sayuti

Coutts Bank von Ernst Ltd, Singapore Branch

Tel: 6326 1372 or email haider.sayuti@cbve.com

Claire Symonds

Coutts & Co, London

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7957 2650

Notes to Editors

  • Coutts Bank is the trading name of Coutts Bank von Ernst Ltd, a limited liability company incorporated in Switzerland.

  • Coutts is the international private banking arm of Coutts, an international private banking group owned by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is one of the world's largest banking groups.

  • Coutts manages the wealth of 90,000 high net worth clients worldwide through a network of 50 offices globally. It is represented in Asia with offices in Singapore and Hong Kong.

  • Coutts offers clients an extensive range of products and services covering sophisticated investment products, credit products together with expertise in trust and fiduciary services.

  • Coutts has for the third year in a row been awarded ‘Best Use of Long-Only Multi-Manager Structures’ at the Private Asset Management Awards 2005.
  • The journey of Coutts in Asia can be traced back to the 18th century when Lord Macartney, then British Ambassador to China, gave his friend and banker Thomas Coutts a hand-painted Chinese wallpaper that now adorns the board room of the Coutts headquarters in London. Scenes of Chinese life such as tea cultivation, silk production and pottery are depicted on the mulberry paper that is believed to have originated from Fujian province.
  • In the late 1700s, the Coutts family invested in the East India Company and two ships named ‘Coutts’ and ‘Thomas Coutts’ plied between Singapore and India.
  • Calls may be recorded