Royal Bank Lays Off Employees, Promotes Others With Changes to Organization

(Updates with remarks from RBC spokesperson starting in the first paragraph.)

Royal Bank of Canada is cutting an unspecified number of positions as the Toronto-based lender revamps some of its business segments and shuffles executive responsibilities, an RBC spokesperson told MT Newswires on Friday.

The spokesperson said the job cuts are not related to the acquisition of HSBC's Canadian business.

"We have promoted a number of colleagues, expanded responsibilities and made stronger connections across our platforms," the spokesman said. "With these changes, some difficult decisions have been made and as a result some colleagues were impacted and left the bank."

The spokesperson declined to detail how many people were let go or specify which departments are affected.

Citing sources with knowledge of the matter, Reuters reported earlier that the lender laid off some workers due to changes at its business segments after it completed the acquisition of HSBC Canada in 2024. The cuts started earlier this week and affected the technology and operations teams, according to the sources.

Royal Bank of Canada cut some workers due to changes at its business segments after it completed the acquisition of HSBC's Canadian business in 2024, Reuters reported Friday, citing two sources with knowledge of the layoffs.

The cuts started earlier this week and affected the technology and operations teams, according to the sources.

The number of employees affected by the layoffs were unclear, the report said, adding that it is uncertain whether job cuts will continue.

Royal Bank of Canada didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from MT Newswires.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

Ratings actions from Baystreet: http://www.baystreet.ca

Ratings actions from Baystreet: http://www.baystreet.ca

CIBC Capital Markets lowered its price targets on five Canadian banks.

Analyst Paul Holden reduced his target on Bank of Montreal to $152 from $156 (Outperformer), Bank of Nova Scotia to $75 from $81 (Neutral), National Bank of Canada to $127 from $135 (Neutral), Royal Bank of Canada to $167 from $175 (Neutral), and Toronto-Dominion Bank to $95 from $96 (Outperformer).

"With tariffs in play, our bank EPS estimates come down," Holden said in a note to clients. "The only adjustment we are making to our models with this note is the addition of performing PCLs effective FQ2."

"If tariffs stay, we anticipate further model adjustments will be required (e.g., lower loan growth, potentially lower NIM for BoC monetary response, higher trading revenue, etc.)," the analyst said.

"We are back playing for downside protection, a playbook used too often over the last five years, Holden said.

"BMO and TD, the two banks with the lowest proportion of Canadian loans and highest proportion of USD earnings, are our tariff protection picks. We reduce our price targets for the big banks based on a higher risk premium."

Royal Bank of Canada (RY) is currently at $113.12, down $3.72 or 3.19%

• Would be lowest close since Aug. 21, 2024, when it closed at $112.94
• Currently down three of the past four days
• Currently down two consecutive days; down 4.27% over this period
• Worst two day stretch since the two days ending Oct. 3, 2023, when it fell 5.63%
• Down 6.13% year-to-date
• Down 11.63% from its all-time closing high of $128.02 on Dec. 5, 2024
• Up 15.48% from 52 weeks ago (March 5, 2024), when it closed at $97.96
• Down 11.63% from its 52-week closing high of $128.02 on Dec. 5, 2024
• Up 17.35% from its 52-week closing low of $96.40 on April 16, 2024
• Traded as low as $112.18; lowest intraday level since Aug. 20, 2024, when it hit $112.14
• Down 4% at today's intraday low

All data as of 2:17:00 PM ET

Source: Dow Jones Market Data, FactSet