Royal_Bank_of

The Royal Bank of Canada (Banque Royale du Canada in French) is Canada's largest company and bank.^[2]

Its master brand is RBC and that name is used on all its business units or subsidiaries. In Canada, the bank is branded as RBC Royal Bank, a combination of its new master brand and its traditional Canadian brand. Some business units of RBC are:

RBC also has a large retail banking presence in the southeastern United States, marketing itself there as RBC Bank.

RBC ranks number 55 on the Forbes Global 2000 list.^[3] Its market cap fluctuates at around CAD$ 63.7 billion as of October 31, 2006.

As of 2008, RBC is the largest financial institution/bank in Canada measured in both assets and market capitalization. RBC has more than 1500 branches in Canada, offices in 46 countries, and serves clients from 150 countries. RBC currently serves more than 15 million customers in Canada and employs more than 70,000 full and part-time employees internationally.^[4]

RBC has carved out a name for itself as a leader in the Caribbean region. RBC Royal Bank maintains a profitable base from its Caribbean operations, and has retained high brand recognition among its other top competitors. RBC is especially known in the anglophone Caribbean for its various personal and business banking services in retailing, loans, and credit offerings.

RBC has a large retail banking presence in the southeastern United States, marketing itself there as RBC Bank. RBC Bank is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. The bank has recently merged with Flag Bank, increasing its presence in Georgia. RBC continues to grow in the Southeast after acquiring 39 branches of AmSouth Bank in Alabama on March 9, 2007 (previously RBC Centura had no locations in this state).^[5] RBC announced on January 17, 2008 that it would abandon the "Centura" brand in April 2008 and the U.S. operations would operate as RBC Bank. RBC's footprint in the Southern United States (namely Alabama, Georgia, and Florida) expanded significantly after its acquisition of Alabama National Bancorporation completed in June 2008.

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. The logo is known and recognized in Canada as a famous symbol.^{[citation needed]}

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.

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

RBC's official legal 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 functional corporate headquarters.

RBC has been awarded with many awards and recognition for its financial products and services. RBC is the most "valuable brand" in Canada for over three consecutive years. RBC is also one of the top 100 sustainable companies in the world. Other awards and recognitions include:

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.^[7]

On January 15, 2007, CBC Radio reported RBC is "refusing" people of certain nationalities to open U.S. dollar accounts with the bank.^[8] 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 the compliance with such laws do 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.^[9]

In 2002, RBC purchased the naming rights for the Entertainment and 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.

RBC is a member of the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) and 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:

Associated Â· BancWest Â· Bank of America Â· Bank of New York Mellon Â· BB&T Â· BOK Financial Corporation Â· Capital One Â· Citigroup Â· Citizens Financial Group Â· City National Â· Colonial Â· Comerica Â· Commerce Bancshares Â· Compass Â· FBOP Â· Fifth Third Â· First BanCorp Â· First Citizens Â· First Horizon National Â· First National of Nebraska Â· Fulton Â· Harris Â· HSBC Bank USA Â· Huntington Â· JPMorgan Chase Â· Key Â· M&T Â· Marshall & Ilsley Â· National City Â· New York Community Â· New York Private Â· Northern Trust Â· PNC Â· Popular Â· RBC Bank Â· Regions Â· South Financial Group Â· State Street Â· SunTrust Â· Synovus Â· Taunus Â· TCF Â· TD Bank Â· U.S. Bancorp Â· UnionBanCal Â· W Holding Â· Wachovia Â· Webster Â· Wells Fargo Â· Zions

Agnico-Eagle Mines Â· Agrium Â· Bank of Montreal Â· Bank of Nova Scotia Â· Barrick Gold Corporation Â· BCE Â· Biovail Corporation Â· Bombardier Â· Brookfield Asset Management Â· Cameco Â· Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Â· Canadian National Â· Canadian Natural Resources Â· Canadian Oil Sands Trust Â· Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. Â· Canadian Tire Â· Enbridge Â· EnCana Corporation Â· Enerplus Resources Fund Â· First Quantum Minerals Â· Fortis Inc. Â· Gildan Activewear Â· Goldcorp Â· Groupe Aeroplan Â· Husky Energy Â· Imperial Oil Â· Inmet Mining Â· Kinross Gold Â· Loblaw Companies Â· Lundin Mining Â· Magna International Â· Manulife Financial Â· MDS Inc. Â· National Bank of Canada Â· Nexen Â· Nortel Â· NOVA Chemicals Â· Penn West Energy Trust Â· Petro-Canada Â· Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Â· Research In Motion Â· Rogers Communications Â· Royal Bank of Canada Â· Shaw Communications Â· Shoppers Drug Mart Â· SNC-Lavalin Â· Sun Life Financial Â· Suncor Energy Â· Talisman Energy Â· Teck Cominco Â· TELUS Â· Thomson Reuters Â· Tim Hortons Â· Toronto-Dominion Bank Â· TransAlta Â· TransCanada Corp. Â· Uranium One Â· George Weston Limited Â· Yamana Gold Â· Yellow Pages Income Fund

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Royal_Bank_of_Canada