Moody’s endorses RBC’s U.K. foray

Royal Bank of Canada’s planned acquisition of U.K. wealth manager Brewin Dolphin Holdings plc will expand the size and reach of the bank’s wealth management business, says Moody’s Investors Service.

In a new report, the rating agency said RBC’s $2.6-billion cash deal for Brewin Dolphin is credit positive for RBC because it will add to and diversify the bank’s wealth management franchise, which is currently largely confined to North America.

The acquisition of Brewin Dolphin will make RBC “the third-largest wealth manager in the region upon closing,” Moody’s said, noting that Brewin Dolphin manages £55 billion in assets for more than 80,000 clients, with the average client having approximately £700,000.

“Buying Brewin Dolphin will provide RBC with a platform for growth in a growing market with an asset pool of more than £3 trillion,” the report said, adding that the bank “believes it can generate significant revenue synergies over the next three years, as well as cost synergies from overlapping functional and administrative areas.”

After the deal closes, RBC will still have adequate capital, Moody’s said, noting that it currently has a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 13.5%, “which provides the bank with $14 billion of excess capital.”

The deal’s price tag represents about 19% of that total.

“Given excess capital at the large Canadian banks, we expect them to continue to use this to finance acquisitions outside of Canada because of limited domestic opportunities,” the report said.

Staff

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