Royal Bank of Canada at Barclays Global Financial Services Conference Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : All right, let me start off with kind of -- as you're sitting in this role, you're a few months into your new role as Interim CFO. Maybe talk us -- tell us about what has been your biggest priority since taking the seat, and whether it's decisions on capital, liquidity, or strategy.

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : Okay. Let me talk a little bit more about the HSBC Canada acquisition that just closed in in March. Now as you sit here now nearly six months after closing, how has the acquisition performed compared to your expectations? And are there any areas where you could -- there could be incremental expense or revenue synergies?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : Okay. And then you talked about some of the capital impacts from HSBC, and even after absorbing the 240 basis points, the CET1 ratio remains healthy, somewhat aided by continued internal capital generation. As we look for potential ways to deploy that capital, are there any geographies or segments that you find particularly attractive?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : Maybe a little clarification on that 12.5%, because right now, the regulatory minimum is 11.5%. But they could still bump it up to 12%. So would you think that 12.5% is always like 100-basis-point buffer? Or you could just keep -- and then if it moved up to 12% and you would retain a

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : Okay, great. And then another question on capital deployment. Other Canadian banks have been looking to deploy capital within the US. Relative to RBC's overall size, your branch presence in the US is not that large. Would you consider acquisitions as a way to grow scale in the City National franchise?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : Okay, great. continuing kind of on the capital theme. About not talked about as much, the leverage ratio has been consistent in the 4.2% area. Are there any scenarios where you might become more concerned about or focused more on the leverage ratio where it could become like a binding constraint?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : Okay. Great. Let's just talk about the Canadian business. You've seen some sequential loan growth in resi mortgage, personal card, and business has been pretty healthy across the board, despite already leading market shares. What steps are you taking to continue to gain market share? And do you see any kind of constraints or limitations on loan growth?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : Okay. Great. Within card, the rewards program has been crucial to customer acquisitions, especially when we're looking in the US. How are you approaching the credit card market? And how has your rewards experience differentiated from your competitors in Canada?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : Great. Staying within the Canadian banking market, one of the things we've been hearing is the consumer has been surprisingly resilient, despite maybe a kind of a cloudier outlook at the beginning of the year. Maybe talk about any segments or geographies that you're seeing signs of concern within the consumer?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : Great. Can you talk about like rate cuts? We've already seen three rate cuts from the Bank of Canada, most recently just last week. Can you maybe talk about how much of an impact do you think that'll have on the consumer? Will that change any behaviors? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 / 3:15PM, RY.TO - Royal Bank of Canada at Barclays Global Financial Services Conference

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : So RBC's balance sheet probably remains asset sensitive. So I guess the flip side of the rate cuts is, how do you think about offsetting the impact on NII from declining rates?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : Great. I think that's a nice segue into my next question. I was just going to ask about wealth management. Now wealth management is kind of a significant driver for the RBC business mix. Can you talk about how you maintain a differentiated edge in this segment? And do you see any further opportunities to deploy capital in wealth management?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : Great. We spent a lot of time on capital and kind of some of the top-line drivers. We don't have too much time left. I just want to talk about maybe kind of like the efficiency targets. And how are you balancing efficiency goals versus the need for a continued investment? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 / 3:15PM, RY.TO - Royal Bank of Canada at Barclays Global Financial Services Conference

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : Great. And of course, I couldn't let a bank CFO get off stage without talking about credit. But given that credit didn't come up for the last five minutes, I'd probably say something about overall credit quality. So while overall deal formations were relatively stable in 3Q, there was a tick up in Canadian banking. Maybe can you talk about the increase in commercial inflammation? And any outlook for potential for further deterioration?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : Excellent. We have two minutes left. Maybe we'll open it up to the audience for some questions. In the front row? Yeah.

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : Sure. Quickly. Unidentified Participant Just a follow-up on [Julian's] question about City National. I think it's clear for me what essentially will be done in the efficiency front and rightsizing the business, et cetera. But just on the revenue side, you talked about opportunities. Can you put a little bit more meat on that? Like what opportunities are you seeing that could grow that franchise?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : Great. Please join me in thanking Katherine for her time today.

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Capital Inc. - Analyst : Thank you very much. (Event Instructions)