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Royal Bank of Canada

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This article is about the Canadian bank. For the former American subsidiary, see RBC Bank.
Royal Bank of Canada
Company typePublic
TSX: RY
NYSE: RY
SIX: RY
IndustryFinancial services
FoundedHalifax, Nova Scotia, 1864
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario, Canada[1] [2]
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Key people
Gordon Nixon CEO
David P. O'Brien Chairperson
RevenueIncrease C$29.772 billion (F2012)
Increase C$7.539 billion (F2012)
Total assetsIncrease C$825.100 billion (F2012)
Number of employees
80,000 (FTE, F2012)
Websiterbc.com

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; French: Banque Royale du Canada), RBC Royal Bank or RBC Financial Group is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves 18 million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide.[3] The company corporate headquarters are located in Montreal, Quebec, and its operational head office in Toronto, Ontario.[1][2] The bank was founded in 1864 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. RBC's Institution Number (or bank number) is 003.

In Canada, the bank is branded as RBC Royal Bank in English and RBC Banque Royale in French and serves approximately ten million clients through its network of 1,209 branches. RBC Bank was the U.S. retail banking subsidiary with 439 branches across six states in the Southeast, which served more than a million customers.[4] RBC also has 127 branches across seventeen countries in the Caribbean, which serve more than 1.6 million clients.[3] RBC Capital Markets is RBC's worldwide investment and corporate banking subsidiary, while the investment brokerage firm is known as RBC Dominion Securities. Investment banking services are also provided through RBC Bank and the focus is on middle market clients.

RBC is listed as the largest Canadian company by revenue and market capitalization by The Globe and Mail[5] and was ranked at number 53 on the 2008 Forbes Global 2000 listing, and currently ranked at 50 in the 2013 listing.[6][7] The company has operations in Canada, and 51 other countries.[8]

Timeline

Place Ville Marie the RBC headquarters in Montreal, Quebec
The Royal Bank Plaza building in Toronto, Ontario
The Royal Centre building in Vancouver, British Columbia
Tour de la Banque Royale in Montreal, Quebec, which housed the head office from 1928 to 1962.
Thomas D'Arcy McGee Building, RBC's office in Ottawa
  • 1864 - Merchants Bank of Halifax founded in Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1869 - Officially incorporated as the Merchants' Bank of Halifax.[9]
  • 1869 - Federal charter received.
  • 1870 - 1880s - Expansion in Maritime Provinces.
  • 1895 - Expansion in Newfoundland on Jan 31, 1895 post collapse of Newfoundland Commercial Bank and Union Bank of Newfoundland on December 10, 1894[9]
  • 1901 - Changed name to Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).
  • 1907 - Head Office moved from Halifax to Montreal.
  • 1910 - Merged with Union Bank of Halifax.
  • 1910 - bank designed by Carrère and Hastings, Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1910 in beaux-arts classicism proclaimes the financial dominance of Winnipeg in the prairies.[10]
  • 1912 - Merged with Traders Bank of Canada in order to improve its position in Ontario.
  • 1917 - Merged with Quebec Bank, which was founded in 1818 and chartered in 1822 in Quebec City.
  • 1918 - Merged with Northern Crown Bank, which was the result of the merger in 1908 between Northern Bank (established in 1905 in Winnipeg) and Crown Bank of Canada (1904), based in Ontario. RBC's acquisition gave it a strong presence in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
  • 1925 - Merged with Union Bank of Canada, which had begun in Quebec City in 1865 as the Union Bank of Lower Canada, but changed its name in 1886. Union Bank of Canada had moved its headquarters to Winnipeg in 1912, and built a strong presence in the Prairie Provinces.
  • 1935 - Crown Savings and Loan Co. merges with Industrial Mortgage & Trust Co.[11]
  • 1961 - Installed its first computer, which was the first in Canadian banking.
  • 1968 - Royal Trust merged with Ontario Loan and Debenture Company (formerly Ontario Savings and Investment Society).[12]
  • 1993 - RBC merged with Royal Trust.
  • 1998 - proposed merger with Bank of Montreal, rejected by federal minister of finance (see Controversies below)
  • 1998 - RBC acquired Security First Network Bank in Atlanta, the first pure Internet bank.[13]
  • 2000 - Merged merchant credit/debit card acquiring business with BMO Bank of Montreal's to form Moneris Solutions.
  • 2013 - RBC completed the acquisition of the Canadian subsidiary of Ally Bank owned by ResMor Trust.

International timeline

RBC Royal Bank has carved out a name for itself as a leader in the Caribbean region, especially in the anglophone Caribbean.

RBC opened a branch in the Dominican Republic; three more follow.
  • 1913 - RBC opened a branch in Grenada.
  • 1914 - RBC bought out Bank of British Guiana (est. 1836), in British Guiana, and converted it to a branch.
  • 1915 - RBC opened branches in Costa Rica, Antigua, Dominica, and St. Kitts.
  • 1916 - RBC opened a branch in Venezuela.
  • 1917 - RBC opened branches in Antigua, Dominica, St. Kitts, Montserrat, Nevis, and Tobago.
  • 1918 - RBC opened a branch in Barcelona, and another in Vladivostok that lasted less than a year.
  • 1919 - RBC opened branches in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paris, Martinique, Guadaloupe, and Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
  • 1920 - RBC opened a branch in Colombia and a branch in Castries, St Lucia.
  • 1923 - RBC bought and consolidated the banking operations of Pedro Gomez Mena e Hijo in Cuba.
  • 1925 - RBC opened a branch in Peru, and acquired the American-owned, and failed, Bank of Central and South America. The purchase of BCSA brought with it subsidiaries, and their branches, in Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, and Venezuela
  • 1932 - RBC closed its branch in St. Lucia.
  • 1940 - RBC closed its branches in Martinique and Guadaloupe.
  • 1959 - RBC opened a branch in St. Vincent.
  • 1960 - RBC returned to St. Lucia.
  • 1960 - Fidel Castro's regime acquired the RBC's operations in Cuba on 8 December.[9] At the time of the forced sale, RBC had 24 branches in Cuba. From 1961 to 1965, RBC maintained a Special Representative in Havana to facilitate trade between Cuba and Canada. Actually, the Special Representative’s primary function after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961 was to act as a financial intermediary between the American and Cuban governments to manage the ransoming of the prisoners for food and agricultural machinery.
  • 1964 - RBC opened a branch in George Town, Grand Cayman.
  • 1970s - As a result of Law 75, RBC's operations in Colombia became Banco Royal Colombiano.
  • 1973 - RBC was forced to incorporate its operations in Jamaica, which became Royal Bank (Jamaica).
  • 1980 - RBC purchased Banco de San Juan in Puerto Rico, adding its 14 branches to the six that RBC already had in Puerto Rico. :RBC sold to Republic Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, its assets in Grenada.
  • 1985 - RBC started to withdraw from much of the Caribbean.
It sold its 12 branches in the Dominican Republic to Banco de Comercio Dominicano.
It also sold its stake in Royal Bank (Jamaica) to Jamaica Mutual Life Assurance.
The Government of Guyana nationalized its operations there and renamed the bank the National Bank of Industry and Commerce Ltd.[14][15][16]
Additionally RBC incorporated its operations in Trinidad and Tobago locally, floating the shares, thereby divesting itself of ownership. The new bank took the name Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (RBTT).
Royal Bank of Canada's previous logo (the crown was removed).

The bank's symbol is a golden lion clutching a globe, on a blue background. An older version had a crown above the globe and had the lion facing to the left rather than the right. The change coincided with an expansion in United States markets.

Corporate governance

Edson Loy Pease (1856–1930), a Quebec native, was a chief executive and managing director of the bank and one of the key people in its history. An employee of the Merchants' Bank of Halifax, he built that bank's Quebec business to where Montreal became its centre of operations. His efforts saw the Bank formally relocate its head office in 1907 to St. James Street in Montreal, following which he induced the prominent Montreal business magnate Herbert S. Holt to accept an appointment as the bank's new president. While at the time Holt's presidency was largely a ceremonial position, his name substantially raised the bank's profile and broadened its business connections.

The title of Royal Bank's top executive has changed several times. Initially it was styled as President. Later, it became Chief Executive Officer and one often carried additional responsibilities as Chairman of the Board, while the second-in-command was the President. Allan R. Taylor was Chairman and CEO from 1986 to 1994, and he was succeeded by John Cleghorn in that capacity from 1994-2001. Gordon Nixon is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer, as the bank decided to appoint a non-executive chairman after Cleghorn's retirement.

Chief Executive
Chairman (non-executive)

Current members of the board of directors are: Geoff Beattie, Douglas Elix, John Ferguson, Paule Gauthier, Jacques Lamarre, Brandt Louie, Gordon Nixon, David O'Brien, Robert Peterson, Pedro Reinhard, Timothy Hearn, Kathleen P. Taylor, Victor Young, Michael McCain, Alice Labeige.

History of Head Offices

RBC's official legal corporate headquarters still remains in Montreal at Place Ville-Marie. However, the great majority of management operations were moved to its current location in Toronto at the Royal Bank Plaza, making this the company's operational corporate headquarters.[18]

Awards and recognition

RBC has been awarded with many awards and recognition for its financial products and services. RBC is also one of the top 100 sustainable companies in the world. Other awards and recognitions include: In 2007, awarded the "Best Bank" in Canada by The Banker, one of the oldest banking magazines

According to a global Newsweek ranking, which measures how effectively companies manage environmental risks and opportunities relative to their industry peers, Royal Bank of Canada is the most environmentally friendly company in the world.[21]

Sponsorship

In 2002, RBC purchased the naming rights for the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Raleigh, N.C., home to the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League and North Carolina State University basketball. The arena was renamed the RBC Center, with a 20-year lease at a cost of $80 million. In June 2006, the RBC Center was host for the NHL's Stanley Cup Finals, and on June 19, 2006, the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Edmonton Oilers in the RBC Center to win the Stanley Cup. On March 15, 2012, RBC Center became PNC Arena.

RBC sets aside one percent of its average annual net income before taxes for charitable partnerships via the arms-length RBC Foundation. They are also a major sponsor of numerous events such as the RBC Canadian Open and the Toronto International Film Festival, and are the longest-running Canadian sponsor of the Olympic Games. RBC was the co-presenting sponsor, along with Coca-Cola, of the 2010 Winter Olympics torch relay. They employ dozens of top-tier athletes as part-time spokespeople through the RBC Olympians program. In July 2013, the RBC Foundation announced its partnership with the University of Toronto to revive the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre, given to recognize achievement in Canadian theatre.[22]

Starting in 2012, the Royal Bank of Canada will sponsor a second FedEx Cup PGA Tour event, the Heritage Classic golf tournament in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

RBC also created and hosts a yearly Canadian Women Entrepreneur Award, which in 2012, started its nominee application process on International Women's Day.[23]

In July 2013, RBC acquired the naming rights to the convention centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, renaming it RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg.[24]

In 2013, RBC Wealth Management was announced as the new corporate sponsor of the RBC Taylor Prize, a literary award for non-fiction writing in Canada.[25]

Controversies

Merger

In 1998, the Royal Bank of Canada proposed to merge with the Bank of Montreal, at the same time as the Toronto-Dominion Bank proposed to merge with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Both mergers were examined by the Competition Bureau of Canada, and ultimately rejected by Paul Martin, at the time the Finance Minister of Canada.

Discrimination

On January 15, 2007, CBC Radio reported RBC is "refusing" people of certain nationalities to open U.S. dollar accounts with the bank.[26] Canadian citizens with dual citizenship in Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Myanmar, North Korea or Sudan (mostly countries with U.S. sanctions) are affected. The U.S. Treasury Department restricts certain foreign nationals from using the U.S. dollar payment system to limit terrorism and money laundering after the September 11, 2001 attacks. RBC replied that compliance with such laws does not represent an endorsement by the bank and on January 17, clarified its position on the application of the U.S. laws, specifying that "with some exceptions" it does open accounts for dual citizens of the sanctioned countries.[27] There have also been reports that the bank has closed the accounts of some Iranian-Canadian citizens.[28]

Environment

Environmental groups have criticized RBC's financing of oil sands bitumen extraction and expansion, cumulatively issuing "more than $2.3 billion in loans and financing more than $6.9 billion in [corporate] debt between 2003 and 2007 for 13 companies including: EnCana, Husky Energy, OPTI Canada, Delphi Energy, Canadian Oil Sands Trust, Northwest Upgrading, Suncor, Total, Connacher Oil and Gas, InterPipeline and Enbridge." Some environmental groups [29] believe oil sands extraction has a detrimental effect on the northern Alberta environment.

2010 Ottawa branch firebombing

An RBC branch in The Glebe neighbourhood of Ottawa was firebombed in May 2010. The party responsible later identified themselves on Indymedia and threatened to make their presence at the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, as RBC is one of its key sponsors, as well as at the 2010 G-20 Toronto summit.[30]

Temporary foreign workers and Canadian layoffs

On April 6, 2013, CBC News reported that Canadian RBC Information technology (IT) workers were losing their jobs to replacement foreign workers. The foreign workers were brought from India by outsourcing firm iGATE, and the Royal Bank of Canada employees train their replacements before they themselves were laid off, causing their appeal to the media. It is against Canadian federal rules to bring in temporary foreign workers when it puts Canadians out of work.[31][32]

The move resulted in a strong negative reaction from the public and drew the attention of the office of the minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. Human Resources Minister Diane Finley issued a statement saying the situation is unacceptable if it is true.[33][34] The bank has responded to the controversy by issuing a statement denying the charges and offering clarification of the situation.[35] A reported 45 employees are losing their jobs, nevertheless RBC has indicated that they intend to expand this practice in the coming year.[36]

On May 7, 2013 the CBC reported that during question period accusations were leveled against the government by the NDP, and that Prime Minister Stephen Harper responded by saying that the government has been working on problems with the Temporary Foreign Worker Program for more than a year. [37]

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

FATCA is American legislation which affects all non-U.S. banks. Starting in July 2014 Candian banks will be required to ask any person opening a bank account if they are now, or have ever been a U.S. "person" as defined by the IRS. Anyone who answers affirmatively will be flagged, and those who refuse to answer this question may be deemed noncompliant and their information may be reported. The banks will be required to look through all their customer’s records to find any evidence that may indicate a tie to the United States.

According to CBC News President Obama has been quoted as saying "if financial institutions won’t cooperate with us, we will assume they are sheltering money in tax-havens and act accordingly." [38]

According to the RBC websitea U.S. person for U.S. tax purposes is one of the following:

  • A citizen of the U.S., including an individual born in the U.S. but resident in another country, who has not renounced U.S. citizenship;
  • A lawful resident of the U.S., including a U.S. green card holder;
  • A person residing in the U.S.
  • Certain persons who spend a significant number of days in the U.S. each year. (For example, some Canadian "snowbirds" may be considered U.S. persons. However, the Canada-U.S. tax treaty allows them to claim benefits to be treated as Canadian rather than U.S. taxpayers. Similar relief is provided under many other treaties with the U.S.)
  • U.S. corporations, U.S. estates and U.S. trusts.[39]

Memberships

RBC is a member of the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) and is a registered member with the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), a federal agency insuring deposits at all of Canada's chartered banks.
It is also a member of:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Royal Bank of Canada: Annual Report 2010" (PDF). RBC. 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  2. ^ a b Sasha Yusufali. "Royal Bank of Canada". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
  3. ^ a b "Royal Bank of Canada: Annual Report 2008" (PDF). RBC. 2008. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  4. ^ "About RBC Bank - Company Profile". Rbcbankusa.com. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  5. ^ "Business - The Globe and Mail". Toronto: Business.theglobeandmail.com. 2011-02-14. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  6. ^ "The Global 2000". Forbes. 2008-04-02.
  7. ^ "The Global 2000". Forbes.
  8. ^ "Corporate Profile". RBC. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  9. ^ a b c Pound, Richard W. (2005). 'Fitzhenry and Whiteside Book of Canadian Facts and Dates'. Fitzhenry and Whiteside.
  10. ^ Harold D. Kalman (1906-04-17). "Bank Architecture". Thecanadianencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  11. ^ Nineteenth Legislature (1936). Ontario Sessional Papers. p. iii. OL 23742693M.
  12. ^ Daniel J. Brock (2000). "Jeffery, Joseph". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  13. ^ Jordan, Meredith (2002-06-03). "RBC Centura aims high with Eagle Bancshares".
  14. ^ [1][dead link]
  15. ^ http://www.eclac.org/publicaciones/xml/5/9885/carg0671.pdf
  16. ^ http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2003/06/27/000012009_20030627143658/Rendered/PDF/26003.pdf
  17. ^ RBC Dexia
  18. ^ Sasha Yusufali. "Royal Bank of Canada". Thecanadianencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  19. ^ "RBC Financial Group - Corporate Profile - Awards & Recognition". rbc.com. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  20. ^ "Reasons for Selection, 2009 Canada's Top 100 Employers Competition".
  21. ^ Global-Warming Ready, Newsweek, 8 April 2007, URL accessed 19 July 2007
  22. ^ "The Siminovitch Prize in Theatre announces new partnerships with University of Toronto and RBC Foundation". Yahoo! Finance. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  23. ^ "RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards". www.theawards.ca. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  24. ^ "http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/rbc-buys-naming-rights-for-winnipeg-convention-centre-1.1388353". CBC News. 2 July 2013. {{cite news}}: External link in |title= (help)
  25. ^ "Charles Taylor Prize now known as RBC Taylor Prize; adds secondary award". Victoria Times Colonist, December 9, 2013.
  26. ^ "Royal Bank limiting accounts because of U.S. law". CBC News. January 16, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
  27. ^ "RBC issues clarification on U.S. dollar accounts". Archived from the original on 2007-01-20. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
  28. ^ http://salamtoronto.ca/?p=17571
  29. ^ "U.S. foundations against the oil sands". Archived from the original on 2011-01-11. Retrieved 2012-08-23. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2011-07-20 suggested (help)
  30. ^ Bank firebomb suspects from Ottawa[dead link]
  31. ^ "RBC replaces Canadian staff with foreign workers". British Columbia: CBC News. 6 April. Retrieved 2013-04-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ "RBC temporary workers: Ottawa concerned about move". Financial Post. 7 April 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
  33. ^ "Statement from the Honourable Diane Finley". Newswire. Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. 7 April 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
  34. ^ Mehta, Diana (7 April 2013). "RBC Foreign Workers Report Sparks Discontent, Company Will Discuss Hiring Practices With Government". The Canadian Press. Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
  35. ^ "rbc.com - RBC - Media Newsroom". RBC. 2011-10-17. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
  36. ^ Sophie Cousineau. "Ottawa to probe RBC job outsourcing". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
  37. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/05/07/pol-cp-temporary-foreign-workers.html?cmp=rss
  38. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadian-banks-to-be-compelled-to-share-clients-info-with-u-s-1.2437975
  39. ^ http://www.rbc.com/aboutus/fatca.html

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Royal Bank of Canada.

Historical bank notes

Template:50 largest US banks

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