...Ratings Affirmed: Fitch recently affirmed Royal Bank of Canada's (RY, or the company) long- and short-term issuer default ratings (IDR) at `AA' and `F1+', respectively, following Fitch's Canadian bank peer review. Fitch notes that RY maintains strong market shares in its core product offerings and the company has continued to deliver strong overall operating performance over multiple operating cycles. Negative Rating Outlook: The Rating Outlook for RY remains Negative given Fitch's view that the growth of the company's capital markets businesses combined with potential weakness in the Canadian consumer could drive higher overall earnings volatility for the company on a prospective basis. City National Acquisition Positive: Fitch views RY's relatively recent acquisition of City National Corporation (CYN) as a credit positive, as it gives RY avenues for growth and provides both geographic balance sheet and earnings diversity. That said, given that CYN's overall business operates at lower...
