RBC CEO McKay Looks for Deals in U.S. and Europe Wealth Management

(Bloomberg) -- Royal Bank of Canada Chief Executive Officer Dave McKay said the lender may seek to add to its wealth management unit in the U.S. and Europe through smaller, targeted acquisitions.

“Wealth distribution in the United States we continue to look at,” McKay said Monday at the RBC Capital Markets Canadian Bank CEO conference. Royal Bank is also looking at deals in “wealth distribution in Europe to enhance our European and global wealth franchise” and commercial banking in the U.S., he said. 

Wealth management is a particularly attractive business for investment right now because it offers a high return on equity along with stable revenue and an opportunity to cross-sell other products such as credit cards to clients, McKay said.

Royal Bank sees organic growth in businesses like commercial banking, corporate banking and credit cards as its “primary growth mechanism” along with investing in startups in its RBC Ventures portfolio, McKay said.

In its capital markets business, Royal Bank has added to its technology team and is building out its health-care team. The bank will look to deploy more capital in its corporate loan book in 2022, McKay said.

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