Royal Bank of Canada got an earnings boost from its U.S. capital markets business and its ownership of City National Bank in Los Angeles during the quarter that ended April 30, helping to offset softer growth at home.
Net income totaled $2.1 billion, in U.S. dollars, a 9% increase from the year-earlier period. The $890 billion-asset company's earnings per share rose 11% to $1.38 year over year.
“RBC had a strong second quarter… reflecting solid growth across most of our businesses and prudent risk management. I’m very pleased with our performance for the first half of the year given the uncertain operating environment,” Dave McKay, its president and CEO, said in a press release.
City National Bank, which RBC purchased in 2015, contributed $57 million to RBC’s bottom line, a year-over-year increase of 12%. At City National, loans increased 15% to $28 billion and deposits increased 17% to $40 billion.
RBC’s U.S. capital markets revenue increased 22% from the year-earlier quarter, driven by higher loan syndication and underwriting fees, improved M&A activity and higher fixed-income trading. Capital markets revenue in the U.S. accounted for 53% of RBC’s total capital markets revenue in the second quarter.
Expenses increased 7% year over year thanks to higher variable compensation in wealth management and capital markets, as well as “continued investments to support business growth and higher regulatory compliance costs,” the company said.
