(Toronto) Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is making changes to its senior management team and splitting its personal and commercial banking division into two groups following its acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada earlier this year.
RBC says the changes, which will take effect on March 1,er September, will put it in a better position to leverage its size and speed up decision-making.
RBC gained some 780,000 clients and 4,500 employees through the acquisition of HSBC Canada in late March, bringing its total client base to more than 15 million.
The leadership shakeup also comes just over a decade after CEO Dave McKay took over, raising questions about when he might step down.
Mr. McKay said in a statement that he was energized by the opportunity to work with the new slate of leaders “in the years to come.”
“The unique skills, experiences and perspectives they bring will be invaluable as we enter our next phase of growth,” he said.
The bank says Doug Guzman, currently group head of wealth management and insurance, will become deputy chairman of RBC.
Neil McLaughlin, currently Group Head, Personal and Commercial Banking, will become Group Head, Wealth Management.
Erica Nielsen, currently Senior Vice President, Personal Finance Products, will become Group Head, Personal Banking, while Sean Amato-Gauci, currently Senior Vice President, Corporate Financial Services, will become Group Head, Business Banking.
RBC says Jennifer Publicover has been named Group Head, Insurance and will join the leadership team.
Mme Publicover has been CEO of RBC Insurance since 2023.
John Aiken, an analyst at Jefferies, said the changes highlighted the bank’s strength but there were still questions about the role of the CFO.
“We are surprised that there has been no resolution on the bank’s CFO position in conjunction with the announcements that Katherine Gibson is still retaining her ‘interim’ title,” he wrote in a note.
RBC fired former CFO Nadine Ahn in April following an investigation into a personal relationship she allegedly had with another employee and named Katherine Gibson to the role on an interim basis.
Aiken said the senior management shake-ups could increase speculation about the president and CEO’s succession, but he did not expect any immediate announcements about Dave McKay’s departure.