The bank announced Thursday that it could now pay a quarterly dividend of $1.42 per share, a rise of 4 cents, and said it could buy back as much as 30 million of its own shares.
The moves got here after RBC said it earned $3.95 billion, or $2.74 per diluted share, within the quarter ended April 30. The quarterly result rose from $3.68 billion, or $2.60 per diluted share, within the year-ago period, partly on account of record returns in capital markets.
“We saw strong growth across a variety of revenue streams this quarter,” CEO Dave McKay said in a conference call on quarterly results.
He said the bank’s generation of latest capital means it has options for future growth, including possible acquisitions, even when the bank pays out more cash to its shareholders.
“This enormous capital that we are generating gives us considerable strategic flexibility at the inorganic level.”
In addition, the bank now has quite a few internal growth opportunities available, including the chance to capitalize on its $13.5 billion acquisition of HSBC Canada.
End of uncertainty for former HSBC employees
For the roughly 4,500 employees that RBC took over with the takeover, the uncertainties related to the deal and the associated hurdles in acquiring recent customers are actually a thing of the past, he said.
“They’ve been on the defensive for 18 months and now we’re going on the offensive and you can see the joy in their eyes to come back,” McKay said.
