Association for Financial Professionals of Canada Names Robert Horton Its New Executive Director

Senior financial professional to expand organization’s role as the preferred resource helping Canadian treasurers address changing roles and responsibilities for the profession

Toronto, ON - June 21, 2006 - The Association for Financial Professionals of Canada (AFP of Canada) today announced that it has appointed Robert Horton its new Executive Director. A senior professional with more than thirty years' experience in treasury, finance and banking, Mr. Horton will lead AFP of Canada's continued expansion as the source of education, networking and information for Canada's treasury and finance professionals.

"We are very pleased to have Rob Horton with his experience and reputation in the financial community leading the efforts to continue to grow AFP of Canada as a resource on a broad range of finance issues," said Peter Copestake, Senior Vice President & Treasurer, Manulife Financial Corporation and Chairman of both AFP of Canada and the Society of Canadian Treasurers. "Each day treasurers make critical finance decisions impacting the operations of Canadian businesses and increasingly they are being called on by their organizations to help address new issues such as globalization, valuation, liquidity, and changing regulation. AFP of Canada was established to serve as a strong professional, educational and networking resource and Rob will help AFP to grow and serve the needs of Canadian treasurers and finance professionals who are responsible for these issues within their organizations."

AFP of Canada offers a wide range of educational and information resources, including professional development and online education and a range of peer and networking tools, and is affiliated with the Society of Canadian Treasurers, a networking organization for senior treasury professionals within Canada's largest corporations. Members also have access to the full range of products and services offered by AFP, including its annual conference, research, publications and educational resources. AFP's certification program, the Certified Treasury Professional (CTP), is globally recognized as the industry standard for treasury and a requirement for a changing profession. Across North America, more than 12,000 professionals currently hold the CTP, demonstrating mastery of best practices within the profession and a commitment to continuing education and standards.

"Canadian treasury professionals are finding new ways to address the rapidly changing business environment and helping their organizations deal with emerging global market and new operational risks," said Robert Horton the new Executive Director of the AFP of Canada. "Having access to peers and information on best practices is critical to helping professionals to deal with the challenges they face in their roles. We will continue to build domestic content addressing the issues of treasury in Canada as well as the requirements for cross-border and international business. We recently launched a Canadian module for AFP's certification program, the CTP, which is the only certification program for the profession based on Canadian content. This is just one of the many resources we are able to offer treasury and finance professionals.

Robert Horton joins the AFP of Canada after a distinguished career in treasury and banking. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President, Treasury Management & Trade for the Royal Bank of Canada, where he was responsible for general management, overall strategic direction and growth of the cash management and trade divisions. Previously he held senior positions at the Royal Bank in Strategic Initiatives, Strategy & Business Development, Residential Mortgages and served as the Senior Manager, Finance and Treasury for the Royal Bank Mortgage Corporation. Prior to joining the Royal Trust in 1990, Mr. Horton was a Senior Auditor and Senior Financial Analyst with the Bank of Montreal. He began his career at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and later held audit positions at KPMG and Deloitte & Touche. Mr. Horton is a graduate of Carleton University, Ottawa and earned a CA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario.

The Association for Financial Professionals of Canada, based in Toronto, is the preferred educational and informational resource for financial professionals in Canada. Its mandate is to raise the stature and visibility of the treasury profession and to provide its members the broad professional development and networking resources of the AFP, a global organization which serves more than 15,000 corporate treasury and financial management professionals in more than 40 countries. AFP of Canada is affiliated with the Society of Canadian Treasurers (SCT), an organization comprised of treasurers from Canada's largest public, private and crown corporations. For more information about AFP of Canada visit http://www.AFPonline.ca.

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