Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) intends to begin a “direct-to-consumer” business in the US, targeting affluent clients.

The new proposition, aimed at expanding the bank’s deposit book, is anticipated to have a 2020-end or early-2021 launch, reported Bloomberg.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

The move is said to support RBC’s longer-term growth strategy as it looks to venture beyond commercial lending and wealth management in the US.

RBC CEO David McKay said: “The loan book has been growing faster than the deposit book, so growing our deposit strategy has become of paramount importance.

“You’ll see us bring in some new capability around that to make sure that we’re able to continue to grow both our loans and deposits.”

According to the report, RBC has reported “a little down-market” shift.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

The bank, which has hitherto been focusing on UHNW and HNW customers, now focuses on the super-affluent, McKay stated.

In 2012, RBC offloaded its retail banking subsidiary in the US to PNC Financial Services Group.

At present, RBC’s US units include City National Bank, which it snapped up in 2015.

Speaking to Bloomberg News, RBC CFO Rod Bolger said that the plan of a digital bank has been in the pipeline though a return to physical retail banking in the US is unlikely.

The Canadian banking group had a good start to the year, with net income increasing 11% in Q1 2020 to C$3.51bn ($2.64bn) on a year-on-year basis.

The performance was driven by Capital Markets. Personal & Commercial Banking also reported growth.

The latest plan of RBC coincides with JPMorgan’s plans to enter the UK consumer banking market.