In 2025, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) showed continued dominance in its home market and increasing influence across North America, as well as heavily investing in technology, client experience and cross-border capability.
The bank generated CAD20.4 billion ($14.4 billion) in net income in its financial year ending October 2025, with a return on equity of 16.3%. It posted record business performance across personal banking, commercial banking, capital markets and wealth management, including strong fee growth in wealth management, capital markets and transaction banking.
Early moves in AI under group CEO David McKay are paying off, following more than a decade of investment in data platforms, talent and infrastructure. RBC’s proprietary AI model ATOM, trained on financial data, is being deployed across products and processes, while in-house data and AI platform Lumina provides a computational backbone.
We are growing where it matters, we are operating efficiently, and we are deepening relationships with the roughly 15 million clients we serve in Canada
Erica Nielsen
In 2025, AI was used across multiple customer-facing and operational use cases, from credit adjudication to personalised marketing. Internally, tools such as RBC Assist and Aiden are used by tens of thousands of employees. RBC established a dedicated AI group in 2026, aimed at bringing high-potential use cases to market and embedding responsible AI practices. Partnerships with firms such as Cohere further strengthen its position at the forefront of enterprise AI adoption globally.
Growing where it matters
In personal banking, RBC holds the number one market share in Canada across product categories. In the last fiscal year, its Canadian personal banking delivered double-digit income growth and an efficiency ratio below 40%, supported by higher margins, disciplined cost management and growing customer engagement. It added 400,000 net new premium clients during the year, with 40% of new customers becoming multi-product relationships.
“We are growing where it matters, we are operating efficiently, and we are deepening relationships with the roughly 15 million clients we serve in Canada,” says Erica Nielsen, group head of personal banking.
The Avion Rewards platform sits at the centre of its retail franchise. In 2025, RBC expanded the programme’s reach, growing its member base by 700,000 and embedding it more deeply across credit cards, mortgages and investments.
The bank has continued to build out the rewards platform. A strategic alliance with Canadian Tire allows cardholders to earn three times Canadian Tire Money in major retail brands. RBC also launched a next-generation travel platform through a collaboration with Hopper Technology Solutions, combining the Avion programme with an AI-driven booking engine that provides predictive pricing insights and flexible travel options.
As one of the largest banks in the world and the largest in Canada, we can support clients across advisory, financing, hedging and lending
Derek Neldner
Mortgage origination is another focus. RBC’s acquisition of Pinch Financial in 2026 enhances its ability to verify borrower information digitally and streamline the qualification process, bringing a faster and more transparent experience to clients. The bank is also working upstream in the home-buying journey, through its partnership with REALTOR.ca, integrating property search, financial advice and AI-enabled insights.
“The REALTOR.ca partnership enhances the home-buying journey for Canadians by bringing AI-enabled property search, financial literacy resources, and advice into one place,” says Nielsen. “We’re also making it even easier for clients to receive expert advice with specialised teams in RBC’s contact centres to support clients with complex needs.”
Beyond retail, wealth management is a central pillar of RBC’s North American leadership. Assets under administration surpassed CAD2.3 trillion globally, with strong growth in both Canada and the US. The bank’s US arm, anchored by City National, continues to expand, while new platforms and advisor hiring are reinforcing its reach among high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients.
Global origination model
Meanwhile, RBC Capital Markets remains the dominant investment bank in Canada and a global player. In 2025, it ranked number one across M&A, ECM, DCM and loan market share domestically, while advising on many of the largest transactions involving Canadian companies. The breadth of capability is evident in transactions spanning cross-border M&A, large-scale equity offerings and complex multi-product financings.
“Scale matters more than ever,” says Derek Neldner, CEO and group head of RBC Capital Markets. “Clients are larger, transactions are larger, and financing needs are more complex. As one of the largest banks in the world and the largest in Canada, we can support clients across advisory, financing, hedging and lending, bringing integrated solutions that differentiate us from many peers.”
Its debt capital markets franchise is particularly notable, maintaining a number one ranking in Canada for the 27th consecutive year and leading in areas such as cross-border issuance, inaugural deals and public sector financing. A global platform connects Canadian issuers to international investors across currencies and markets.
Neldner adds that diversification across client segments and products helps it maintain leadership across the cycle, while it has also recently moved to more of a global origination model. Almost half of the firm’s transactions in 2025 were cross-border deals, he notes: “Clients want seamless access to advice across borders, and our model now reflects that.”
