Royal builds on its strong U.S. base

Article Excerpt

Royal Bank’s shares have gained 35% since the bank’s 2015 acquisition of California-based City National Bank. Thanks to that purchase, Royal is now the 7th-largest full-service wealth management firm in the U.S. City National also gives the bank a strong platform to further expand its U.S. wealth management operations. As well, the new North American trade pact (called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement) should spur more demand for corporate financing deals on both sides of the border. Royal also stands to gain from rising interest rates in Canada and the U.S. That will increase interest income from new loans. At the same time, the bank is doing a good job controlling its costs. That frees up more cash for share buybacks and dividend increases. ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $101 (Toronto symbol RY; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $141.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.5; Dividend yield: 3.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.rbc.com) is this country’s largest bank by market cap. It…