(Bloomberg) -- Royal Bank of Canada is exiting wealth management in the Caribbean, extending a retreat in its international wealth business that began last year in Latin America.
Royal Bank, Canadas second-largest lender by assets, is also closing some international advisory and private-banking groups in Canada and the U.S., and is reviewing its RBC Suisse business, Claire Holland, a spokeswoman for Toronto-based RBC Wealth Management, said today in an email statement. RBC Suisse provides international private banking and wealth- management services.
Earlier this year, Royal Bank announced plans to close onshore private wealth management offices in Sao Paulo, Santiago and Montevideo, Uruguay following a review of its Latin American operations. The firm said it seeks to build a more focused wealth management business for wealthy clients in Canada, the U.S., the British Isles and Asia.
We have seen Royal Bank reviewing its operations over the last several years, and the departure from the Caribbean is not terribly surprising, said John Aiken, a Barclays analyst in Toronto. As large as Royal is, they cant be everything to everyone and what theyre doing right now is more of a rifle- shot as opposed to a shotgun approach.
The closures will involve job losses, the bank said in the statement, without saying how many. The Financial Post, which reported the decision earlier today, said as many as 300 employees may be affected, quoting sources they didnt name. The change represents a small segment of Royal Banks wealth- management business and isnt material to the bank, Holland said.
RBC Wealth Management is realigning certain businesses within its international operations as part of a focused strategy that will enable it to achieve sustainable, controlled growth in its priority markets, Holland said.
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