EXHIBIT 99.1

City National Corp. Reports Third-Quarter 2011 Net Income of $41.4 Million, Up 20 Percent from the Third Quarter of 2010

Commercial loans increase 15 percent year over year

Core deposits rise 10 percent

Total assets exceed $23 billion for the first time

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 20, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- City National Corporation (NYSE:CYN), the parent company of wholly owned City National Bank, today reported third-quarter 2011 net income of $41.4 million, or $0.77 per share, up 20 percent from $34.4 million, or $0.65 per share in the third quarter of 2010.

Year to date, City National's net income totaled $128.6 million, up 41 percent from $91.4 million in the first nine months of 2010. Earnings per share were $2.39, up 48 percent from $1.62 per share in the first nine months of last year.

City National also announced today that its Board of Directors has maintained and approved a quarterly common stock cash dividend of $0.20 per share. The quarterly dividend is payable on November 16, 2011 to stockholders of record on November 2, 2011.

THIRD-QUARTER 2011 AND YEAR-TO-DATE HIGHLIGHTS

• Fully taxable-equivalent net interest income amounted to $203.6 million, up 4 percent from the second quarter of 2011 and 7 percent from the same period last year. Fully taxable-equivalent net interest income for the first nine months of 2011 amounted to $584.3 million, up 5 percent from the same period last year.
• Average deposit balances grew to a record $19.7 billion in the third quarter of 2011, up 5 percent from $18.8 billion in the second quarter of this year and 8 percent from $18.3 billion in the third quarter of 2010. Average core deposits grew 5 percent from the second quarter of 2011 and 10 percent from the third quarter of last year. They account for 96 percent of average deposit balances. Average deposits for the first nine months amounted to $18.9 billion, up 7 percent from the same period of 2010.
• Average third-quarter loan balances were $11.8 billion, up 2 percent from the second quarter of 2011 and 3 percent from the third quarter of 2010, excluding loans covered by City National's acquisition-related loss‑sharing agreements with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Average commercial loan balances grew 5 percent from the second quarter of this year and 15 percent from the year-ago period.
• Following two quarters with no provision, the company recorded a $7.5 million provision for loan and lease losses, excluding loans covered by FDIC loss-sharing agreements, in the third quarter of 2011. City National recorded a $13.0 million provision in the third quarter of 2010, which brought its total for the first nine months of last year to $100.0 million. The company remains adequately reserved at 2.16 percent of total loans, excluding FDIC-covered loans.

"In this challenging economic environment, City National completed another positive quarter as it again grew income, loans and deposits meaningfully, and for the first time assets exceeded $23 billion," said Chief Executive Officer Russell Goldsmith.  "Even with our first credit provision in 2011, which was due in part to good commercial loan growth, the company's overall credit quality continues to improve.

"City National also is not burdened or distracted by mortgage-related issues and other headline-grabbing challenges that confront some other banks. Instead, we continue to grow our client base and invest in the future by expanding our products and services, enhancing our productivity and capabilities, and selectively adding talented new colleagues to the City National team."

ASSETS

Total assets at September 30, 2011 grew to a record $23.1 billion, up 3 percent from the second quarter of this year and 6 percent from the third quarter of 2010.

REVENUE

Revenue for the third quarter of 2011 was $269.0 million, down 5 percent from the second quarter of this year but up 6 percent from the third quarter of 2010. Revenue for the first nine months of 2011 totaled $826.9 million, up 2 percent from $811.5 million during the same period of 2010.

NET INTEREST INCOME

Fully taxable-equivalent net interest income was $203.6 million in the third quarter of 2011, up 4 percent from the second quarter of this year and 7 percent from the same period last year. Fully taxable-equivalent net interest income for the first nine months of 2011 was $584.3 million, up 5 percent from $555.2 million in the year-ago period.

Third-quarter average deposits reached a record $19.7 billion, up 5 percent from the second quarter of this year and 8 percent from the third quarter of 2010. Average deposits for the first nine months of 2011 totaled $18.9 billion, up 7 percent from the first nine months of 2010. Period-end deposits grew to $19.9 billion, up 3 percent from June 30 of this year and 8 percent from September 30, 2010.

Average core deposits were $18.9 billion in the third quarter of 2011, up 5 percent from the second quarter of 2011 and 10 percent from the same period of 2010.  Year-to-date average core deposits grew 10 percent from the same period of 2010. Core deposits represent 96 percent of the company's average balances.

Third-quarter 2011 average noninterest-bearing deposits were up 9 percent from the second quarter of 2011 and 19 percent from the same period of 2010. Average noninterest-bearing balances in the first nine months of 2011 were up 14 percent from the same period last year.

Treasury Services deposit balances, which consist primarily of title, escrow and property management deposits, averaged $1.8 billion in the third quarter of this year, up 6 percent from the second quarter of 2011 and 16 percent from the same period of 2010. Year to date, Treasury Services deposit balances averaged $1.6 billion, up 23 percent from the first nine months of 2010. The increases reflect the addition of new title and escrow clients, as well as an increase in commercial real estate activity and residential refinance activity during the quarter.

Third-quarter average loan balances, excluding FDIC-covered loans, were $11.8 billion, up 2 percent from the second quarter of this year and 3 percent from the third quarter of 2010. For the first nine months of 2011, City National's average loans, excluding FDIC-covered loans, were $11.5 billion, down 1 percent from the year-ago period.

Third-quarter average commercial loans were up 5 percent from the second quarter of 2011 and 15 percent from the same period last year.

Average balances for commercial real estate mortgages were up 2 percent from the second quarter of 2011 but down 4 percent from the third quarter of last year. Average balances for commercial real estate construction loans were down 12 percent from the second quarter of 2011 and 43 percent from the third quarter of last year.

Average balances for single-family residential mortgage loans, nearly all of which are made to City National's private banking clients, were up 1 percent from the second quarter of this year and 4 percent from the year-ago period.

Average securities for the third quarter of 2011 totaled $7.0 billion, up 12 percent from the second quarter of this year and 40 percent from the third quarter of 2010, as deposit growth continued to outpace loan growth. The average duration of total available-for-sale securities at September 30, 2011 was 2.1 years, down from 2.3 years at the end of the second quarter of this year but unchanged from September 30, 2010.

City National's net interest margin in the third quarter of 2011 averaged 3.79 percent, compared with 3.85 percent in the second quarter of 2011 and 3.84 percent in the third quarter of 2010. For the first nine months of 2011, City National's net interest margin averaged 3.82 percent, compared with 3.91 percent in the previous year. The declines were due primarily to strong deposit growth and lower loan yields. The company continued to invest a large share of its growing deposits in securities available-for-sale and other liquid assets.

Third-quarter net interest income included $18.3 million from the FDIC-covered loans that were repaid or charged off during the quarter. This compares with $11.1 million in the second quarter of this year and $9.2 million in the third quarter of 2010.

At September 30, 2011, City National's prime lending rate was 3.25 percent, unchanged from both June 30, 2011 and September 30, 2010.

COVERED ASSETS

Loans and other real estate owned (OREO) assets acquired in City National's FDIC‑assisted acquisitions totaled $1.7 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2011, down from $1.8 billion at June 30, 2011 and $2.0 billion at September 30, 2010.

In the third quarter of 2011, the company recorded a $5.9 million non-cash net impairment charge to reflect results of the quarterly update of cash-flow projections for the FDIC-covered loans. The loss reflected a provision for loan losses of $5.1 million for covered loans and a corresponding $0.8 million of other expense related to City National's loss-sharing agreements with the FDIC.  City National will continue to update cash-flow projections for covered loans on a quarterly basis. Due to the uncertainty in the future performance of the covered loans, additional impairments may be recognized in the future.

OREO assets acquired by City National in four FDIC-assisted acquisitions and subject to loss-sharing agreements totaled $102.8 million at September 30, 2011, compared to $114.9 million at the end of the second quarter of this year and $110.4 million in the third quarter of 2010.

NONINTEREST INCOME

Noninterest income was $69.6 million in the third quarter of 2011, down 24 percent from the second quarter of 2011 but up 4 percent from the year-ago quarter. Third-quarter 2011 results included a net FDIC loss-sharing expense of $14.2 million, up from $10.7 million in the second quarter of 2011 and $0.4 million in the third quarter of last year.

Noninterest income for the second quarter of 2011 and third quarter of 2010 also included net gains of $8.2 million and $2.1 million, respectively, for FDIC-assisted acquisitions. Excluding these items, third-quarter noninterest income was down 17 percent from the second quarter of 2011 and up 8 percent from the same period last year.¹

City National's noninterest income totaled $255.5 million in the first nine months of 2011, down 4 percent from the same period of 2010.

In the third quarter of 2011, noninterest income accounted for 26 percent of City National's total revenue, compared to 33 percent in the second quarter of this year and 26 percent in the third quarter of 2010.

Wealth Management

City National's assets under management totaled $33.6 billion as of September 30, 2011, down 8 percent from the second quarter of this year and 6 percent from the same period of 2010.

Trust and investment fees were $35.4 million, down 4 percent from the second quarter of 2011 but up 8 percent from the third quarter of 2010. Year-to-date trust and investment fee income rose 8 percent from the same period last year.

Money market mutual fund and brokerage fees totaled $5.1 million, up 4 percent from the second quarter of this year but down 22 percent from the year-ago period. Money market mutual fund and brokerage fee income was $15.6 million in the first nine months of this year, down 9 percent from the same period of 2010. The declines in money market mutual fund and brokerage fees were due primarily to the impact of extraordinarily low short-term interest rates.

Other Noninterest Income

Third-quarter income from cash management and deposit transaction fees was $11.0 million, up 1 percent from the second quarter of 2011 and down 5 percent from the third quarter of 2010. Year-to-date 2011 cash management and deposit transaction fees were $33.6 million, down 7 percent from the same period last year. The declines were due to higher deposit balances used to offset service charge fees.

Fee income from foreign exchange services and letters of credit totaled $10.4 million in the third quarter of 2011, up 15 percent from the second quarter of 2011 and 31 percent from the third quarter of last year, due primarily to higher foreign exchange volume. Year-to-date 2011 foreign exchange services and letters of credit fee income totaled $27.7 million, up 21 percent from the first nine months of 2010.

Other income was $13.5 million in the third quarter of 2011, down 42 percent from the second quarter of this year but up 291 percent from the year-ago period. Other income in the first nine months of this year was $58.2 million, up 152 percent from the same period last year. Results for the first nine months of 2011 reflected higher gains on the transfer of covered loans to OREO. In addition, third-quarter 2010 results included a $12.3 million charge for the early retirement of debt.

NONINTEREST EXPENSE

City National's third-quarter 2011 noninterest expense amounted to $197.6 million, down 7 percent from the second quarter of this year but up 7 percent from the third quarter of 2010.

Expense growth from the third quarter of last year was due largely to higher compensation, reflecting the addition of more than 90 new colleagues. The growth also stems from higher expenses for OREO, legal and professional services, and marketing and advertising. Approximately 83 percent of OREO expenses are related to covered assets, and a significant portion of these expenses is reimbursed by the FDIC and reflected in noninterest income.

Noninterest expense for the first nine months of 2011 amounted to $606.9 million, up 11 percent from the same period last year.

CREDIT QUALITY

The following credit quality information excludes loans subject to loss-sharing agreements involving City National's FDIC-assisted transactions:

Net charge-offs in the third quarter of 2011 totaled $10.6 million, or 0.36 percent of total loans and leases on an annualized basis. The company realized net recoveries of $4.2 million, or 0.15 percent, in the second quarter of this year and net charge-offs of $28.2 million, or 0.98 percent, in the third quarter of 2010.

At September 30, 2011, nonperforming assets amounted to $190.7 million, or 1.56 percent of the company's total loans and leases and OREO, compared to $180.4 million, or 1.54 percent, at June 30, 2011, and $297.6 million, or 2.59 percent, at September 30, 2010.

Nonaccrual loans at September 30, 2011 were $146.1 million, compared to $132.8 million at June 30, 2011 and $239.1 million at September 30, 2010. The increases in charge-offs and nonaccruals were principally due to one commercial loan and a construction credit. Delinquencies and classified loans declined from the second quarter, and overall credit trends remain favorable.

City National recorded a provision for credit losses of $7.5 million in the third quarter of 2011, following two quarters with no provision. The company recorded a $13.0 million provision in the third quarter of 2010, bringing its total for the first nine months of last year to $100.0 million.

At September 30, 2011, City National's allowance for loan and lease losses totaled $263.3 million, or 2.16 percent of total loans and leases. That compares with $265.9 million, or 2.28 percent, at the end of the second quarter of 2011 and $274.2 million, or 2.40 percent, at September 30, 2010. The company also maintains an additional $22.8 million in reserves for off-balance-sheet credit commitments.

Commercial Loans

Commercial loan net charge-offs were $2.9 million in the third quarter of 2011. This compares to net recoveries of $2.6 million in the second quarter of this year, and net charge-offs of $17.9 million in the year-earlier period. Net charge-offs in the first nine months of 2011 amounted to $2.2 million, compared to net charge-offs of $56.8 million in the first nine months of last year.

Commercial loans on nonaccrual totaled $34.9 million in the third quarter of 2011, compared to $24.3 million at June 30, 2011, and $30.1 million at September 30, 2010.

Construction Loans

City National's $335.7 million commercial real estate construction portfolio includes secured loans to developers of residential and nonresidential properties. This portfolio has been reduced 42 percent since September 30, 2010, and construction loans now account for 3 percent of the company's total loans.

Third quarter net charge-offs of construction loans were $6.2 million, compared to net recoveries of $577,000 in the second quarter of 2011 and $39,000 in the third quarter of 2010. Net charge-offs amounted to $1.8 million in the first nine months of 2011, down from $25.1 million in the same period of last year.

At September 30, 2011, construction loans on nonaccrual totaled $70.8 million, compared to $60.5 million at June 30, 2011, and $135.8 million at September 30, 2010.

Commercial Real Estate Mortgage Loans

Third-quarter net charge-offs in the company's $2.1 billion commercial real estate mortgage portfolio were $452,000, compared to net recoveries of $1.3 million in the second quarter of 2011, and net charge-offs of $9.0 million in the third quarter of 2010. Net recoveries amounted to $7.0 million in the first nine months of 2011, compared with net charge-offs of $24.3 million in the first nine months of last year.

Commercial real estate mortgage loans on nonaccrual totaled $20.7 million, down from $26.7 million at June 30, 2011, and $50.4 million at September 30, 2010.

Residential Mortgage Loans and Equity Lines of Credit

City National's $3.7 billion residential mortgage portfolio and $728.9 million home-equity portfolio continued to perform exceptionally well.  Together, they accounted for $0.7 million in net charge-offs, compared to $0.4 million at June 30, 2011, and $1.4 million at September 30, 2010.  Net charge-offs amounted to $2.4 million in the first nine months of 2011, compared to $3.9 million in the same period of last year.

Residential mortgage loans and lines of credit on nonaccrual were $18.9 million in the third quarter of 2011, compared to $20.9 million in the second quarter of this year and $21.8 million in the third quarter of 2010.

INCOME TAXES

City National's effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2011 was 27.7 percent, unchanged from the year-ago period. For the first nine months of 2011, City National's effective tax rate was 29.4 percent, compared to 13.7 percent in the prior year period.  The increase largely reflects a tax litigation settlement and revisions to certain deferred tax accounts in 2010, as well as higher pretax income in the first nine months of this year.

CAPITAL LEVELS

City National remains well-capitalized, ending the third quarter of 2011 with a Tier 1 common shareholders' equity ratio of 10.3 percent, compared to 10.5 percent at June 30, 2011 and 10.0 percent at September 30, 2010.¹

Total risk-based capital and Tier 1 risk-based capital ratios at September 30, 2011 were 12.9 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively. City National's Tier 1 leverage ratio at September 30, 2011 was 6.8 percent. All of City National's capital ratios are above minimum regulatory standards for "well-capitalized" institutions.

Total risk-based capital, Tier 1 risk-based capital and Tier 1 leverage ratios at June 30, 2011 were 13.3 percent, 10.7 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively.

The period-end ratio of equity to total assets at September 30, 2011 was 9.2 percent, compared to 9.3 percent at June 30, 2011 and 9.1 percent at September 30, 2010.

2011 OUTLOOK

Management continues to expect significantly increased profitability for 2011 as compared with 2010.

CONFERENCE CALL

City National Corporation will host a conference call this afternoon to discuss third-quarter 2011 financial results. The call will begin at 2:00 p.m. PDT. Analysts and investors may dial in and participate in the question/answer session. To access the call, please dial (866) 393-6804 and enter Conference ID 10733405.  A listen-only live broadcast of the call also will be available on the investor relations page of the company's Website at cnb.com.  There, it will be archived and available for 12 months.

ABOUT CITY NATIONAL

City National Corporation's wholly owned subsidiary, City National Bank, provides banking, investment and trust services through 78 offices, including 16 full-service regional centers, in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, Nevada, New York City and Nashville, Tenn. The corporation and its investment affiliates manage or administer $55.6 billion in client investment assets, including nearly $33.6 billion under direct management.

For more information about City National, visit the company's Website at cnb.com.

The City National Corporation logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3142

SAFE-HARBOR LANGUAGE

This news release contains forward-looking statements about the company, for which the company claims the protection of the safe harbor provisions contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

A number of factors, many of which are beyond the company's ability to control or predict, could cause future results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. These factors include (1) changes in general economic, political, or industry conditions and the related credit and market conditions and the impact they have on the company and its customers, (2) the impact on financial markets and the economy of the downgrade by Standard & Poor's of U.S. Treasury obligations and other U.S. government-backed debt, as well as issues surrounding the level of U.S. and European debt, (3) changes in the pace of economic recovery and related changes in employment levels, (4) the effect of the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 and the new rules and regulations to be promulgated by supervisory and oversight agencies implementing the new legislation, taking into account that the precise timing, extent and nature of such rules and regulations and the impact on the company is uncertain, (5) significant changes in applicable laws and regulations, including those concerning taxes, banking and securities, (6) volatility in the municipal bond market, (7) changes in the level of nonperforming assets, charge-offs, other real estate owned and provision expense, (8) incorrect assumptions in the value of the loans acquired in FDIC-assisted acquisitions resulting in greater than anticipated losses in the acquired loan portfolios exceeding the losses covered by the loss-sharing agreements with the FDIC, (9) the effects of and changes in trade and monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including the interest rate policies of the Federal Reserve Board, (10) changes in inflation, interest rates, and market liquidity which may impact interest margins and impact funding sources, (11) adequacy of the company's enterprise risk management framework, (12) the company's ability to increase market share and control expenses, (13) the company's ability to attract new employees and retain and motivate existing employees, (14) increased competition in the company's markets, (15) changes in the financial performance and/or condition of the company's borrowers, including adverse impact on loan utilization rates, delinquencies, defaults and customers' ability to meet certain credit obligations, changes in customers' suppliers, and other counterparties' performance and creditworthiness, (16) a substantial and permanent loss of either client accounts and/or assets under management at the company's investment advisory affiliates or its wealth management division, (17) changes in consumer spending, borrowing and savings habits, (18) soundness of other financial institutions which could adversely affect the company, (19) protracted labor disputes in the company's markets, (20) earthquake, fire or other natural disasters affecting the condition of real estate collateral, (21) the effect of acquisitions and integration of acquired businesses and de novo branching efforts, (22) the impact of changes in regulatory, judicial or legislative tax treatment of business transactions, (23) changes in accounting policies or procedures as may be required by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or regulatory agencies, and (24) the success of the company at managing the risks involved in the foregoing.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the statements are made, or to update earnings guidance, including the factors that influence earnings.

For a more complete discussion of these risks and uncertainties, see the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and particularly, Item 1A, titled "Risk Factors."

¹ For notes on non-GAAP measures, see pages 15 and 16 of the Selected Financial Information.

CONTACT:  Financial/Investors
          Christopher J. Carey, City National
          310.888.6777
          Chris.Carey@cnb.com

          Media
          Cary Walker
          City National
          213.673.7615
          Cary.Walker@cnb.com

          Conference Call:
          Today 2:00 p.m. PDT
          (866) 393-6804
          Conference ID: 10733405