How good/bad is RBC, really?
Been seeing a lot of posts about RBC. Basically, are they just a good bank that objectively just isn’t a BB or is there something I’m missing? Seems like they’re a good bank but any BB name holds more weight.
RBC, or Royal Bank of Canada, is indeed recognized as a strong financial institution, particularly in North America. Here's a breakdown of the perspectives shared on Wall Street Oasis regarding RBC's status and performance:
Strength in North America: RBC has been noted for its significant presence and performance in North America. It's considered a good bank and a great place to work, often preferred over banks like UBS or Deutsche Bank in the U.S. context.
Full-Service Capabilities: RBC operates with a full suite of investment banking services including Equity Research (ER), Asset Management (AM), and a trading desk. It boasts a large balance sheet, reportedly over a trillion in assets, aligning it with some characteristics typical of Bulge Bracket (BB) banks.
Global Footprint and Perception: The main contention about RBC not being a BB stems from its perceived lack of a global footprint comparable to traditional BB banks, especially in activities like M&A and financing on a global scale. This aspect is crucial as BB banks are typically characterized by their extensive global influence and operations.
Reputation and Market Perception: There's a mixed perception about RBC's standing. Some argue that it's on the rise and could be seen as a BB in the future, especially as it continues to build its network and capabilities. Others feel that despite its strengths, it doesn't yet match the global clout and recognition of established BB banks.
Comparative Analysis: In discussions, RBC is often compared favorably to certain banks in terms of operational strength in the U.S., but it still faces skepticism about its global stature and the weight of its name compared to traditional BB banks.
In summary, RBC is viewed as a robust bank with strong services and significant assets, particularly strong in North America. However, its global reach and the weight of its name compared to traditional BB banks are seen as areas where it does not fully align with the BB designation.
Sources: RBC is NOT a BB. Change my Mind., RBC is NOT a BB. Change my Mind., deciding between Roth, RBC, HL, UBS, The rise of RBC Capital Markets, RBC Capital Markets.. Real Opinions?
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If you want to be liberal with the BB definition and stick to all of the historic BB names, RBC is a better bank in the US than DB, and not super far behind UBS. Would think there's a non-zero chance RBC overtakes UBS in the medium-term. It remains a growing franchise though rate of growth for RBC has slowed, much faster pace from the GFC to around 2021 in terms of shooting up league tables across products. Don't want to comment too much on exits but highly doubt it's caught up to firms like DB(despite RBC being stronger) given how reputation based recruiting by headhunters was back when I was a junior (maybe it's changed; but wouldn't assume so given their incentives).
I agree with this. It's a nice place to work where the spread in groups is broad enough that you can either have quite a pleasant life for banking standards with mostly capital markets deal flow or be in a busier group that has ability to exit to UMM. Don't really see MF other one or two diversity offers every couple of years. as someone who has been here a long time, I value the stability above all. They don't do mass-firings, comp is pretty stable at street-ish, lower proportion of lunatic seniors, hell even the stock price is stable and generally does quite well over the long term. It's not a BB, if that even means anything, because it has no presence in APAC and only small presence in Europe
What groups do you recommend
I have to chime in that in my 11 years of post-grad experience, and while networking as an undergrad, I have always been impressed and generally liked each and every person I've met who works at RBC. Just great vibes.
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