RBC looks for City targets
Royal Bank of Canada said it would consider buying a London-based boutique investment bank to speed its expansion efforts, after unveiling plans yesterday to hire 75 more staff across Europe. RBC Capital Markets said it had already hired over 560 people since the start of its financial year in November, including 140 in Europe. Canada’s biggest bank said it was looking to significantly increase its sector coverage in investment banking and equities research and distribution. Canada’s banks are more strongly capitalised and fared better than most global rivals during the financial crisis and several are now seeking to take advantage of their competitive position.