The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) confirmed Friday that its merger transaction with HSBC Bank Canada closed on Thursday as planned.
Announced in November 2022, the proposed merger was worth $13.5 billion. This had to go through several approval stages, and the acquisition was officially completed on Thursday, the company said in a press release.
According to RBC President and CEO Dave McKay, the merger of HSBC with his institution “will provide Canadians with an unparalleled banking experience and increased value.”
Under this transaction, 4,500 HSBC Canada employees will migrate to RBC.
Terms
When she approved the merger last December, federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland imposed several conditions on RBC, including ensuring that none of HSBC Canada’s employees were laid off within six months after the closing date, or two years for frontline staff.
It also required RBC to maintain banking services in at least 33 HSBC Canada branches for four years.
Last week, an RBC spokeswoman said the institution will close 25 HSBC branches and convert dozens more into RBC locations. According to Christine Stewart, some of the establishments that will be closed are located near existing RBC branches.
The branches and offices that will be converted will reopen next Monday under the RBC banner.
When the proposed merger was announced, in 2022, HSBC had approximately 800,000 customers, 130 branches, 4,200 employees and a 2% market share. RBC now says it will welcome 780,000 new clients as part of this transaction.
HSBC also had $130 billion in assets, making it the seventh largest bank in the country.
In anticipation of the sale, HSBC informed its customers that their products, services and balances would be automatically migrated to similar offers and accounts offered by RBC.