City National Expands in Downtown Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 14, 2016 -- City National Bank, America’s Premier Private and Business Bank^®, announced today that as part of its growth and commitment to Los Angeles, it has leased nearly 300,000 square feet at the 52-story 2 California Plaza. The site will be renamed CityNational@2Cal.

This significant move will expand City National’s already strong presence in downtown Los Angeles. The company will remain headquartered at 555 South Flower Street, called City National Plaza, where it has been based since 2003. Today, the bank also announced it has renewed its lease there through 2031. City National will occupy 11 floors at City National Plaza and plans to upgrade and modernize its offices there beginning in early 2018. In addition, City National has another banking office located across the street from 2 California Plaza.

City National currently employs more than 1,800 colleagues in downtown Los Angeles and the company expects to add several hundred new colleagues there in the next few years. The new space at CityNational@2Cal will ultimately accommodate about 1,500 City National colleagues.

City National merged with Royal Bank of Canada in November 2015 and is expanding rapidly.  The L.A.-based company’s assets have grown from $36 billion to $47 billion in just over a year, and during that time it has added a net total of approximately 400 new colleagues, many of them in Los Angeles. City National recently opened its third office in New York, and next year it plans to open offices in Minneapolis and Washington, D.C.

“When City National merged with RBC a year ago, we promised both continuity and growth, and we have made good on that commitment,” said Russell Goldsmith, chairman and CEO of City National Bank and chairman of RBC Wealth Management-U.S. “This significant expansion in L.A. comes at a time when many other banks are cutting back, and it underscores the commitment that City National and RBC have made to do more for our clients, colleagues and communities here in Southern California. When this significant expansion and renovation project is complete, City National will have enhanced its position as one of the largest employers and tenants downtown, with a cutting-edge workplace that facilitates our ability to serve our clients faster and more productively.”

Renovation of the office space at 2 California Plaza (350 South Grand Ave.), will begin next year. Colleagues will move into the new offices in 2018.

The LEED Platinum certified building was chosen in part for its accessibility to public transit, City National Plaza and amenities. The California Plaza courtyard has extensive restaurant and retail tenants and links to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, The Broad, Walt Disney Concert Hall and Colburn School. City National will have building-top signage at the location.

“City National’s expansion in downtown L.A. will further strengthen our company’s brand, help us to retain and attract talented colleagues, and provide us with the flexibility, mobility and ease of collaboration we’ll need to optimize growth in the years ahead,” said Harry Topping, the bank’s manager of corporate real estate.

City National has had a major presence in downtown Los Angeles since 1967.

For images of the new office go to: https://www.cnb.com/PublishingImages/2-California-Plaza.jpg

About City National and RBC

With $47 billion in assets, City National Bank provides banking, investment and trust services through 73 offices, including 16 full-service regional centers, in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, Nevada, New York City, Nashville and Atlanta. In addition, the company and its investment affiliates manage or administer $58 billion in client investment assets.

City National is a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies. RBC serves more than 16 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the United States and 36 other countries.

RBC Wealth Management-U.S. is America’s 7^th largest brokerage firm.  With 1,800 financial advisors in 41 states, it manages approximately $280 billion in assets for more than 300,000 households.

For more information about City National, visit the company’s website at cnb.com.

Media Contact:
Debora Vrana, City National Bank, 213.673.7631
[email protected]