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It's been said that corporate responsibility isn't so much
about how a company spends its money, but how a company makes
its money. At RBC, we believe that our first duty is to operate
with integrity for our clients, earning their trust in every
transaction, in every part of our business.
2010 Performance Highlights
RBC launches Canada's
first integrated online financial management tool
Small businesses
are 'going green': RBC survey
RBC
and the University of Waterloo announce creation of retirement
research centre
| Priorities |
2009 Performance Highlights |
Provide access to basic
banking.
See Access to Banking and Insurance |
Expanded our offering
for newcomers to Canada with a comprehensive Welcome to
Canada banking package
Opened 25 new bank branches and added 14 new retail insurance
locations in Canada |
Develop and provide products responsibly
See Product Responsibility |
Expanded socially responsible investment
options by introducing a new version of the Phillips,
Hager & North Community Values Funds
Revised our lending policy to avoid providing implicit
or indirect financing for transactions involving the manufacture
or trading of equipment or materiel for nuclear, chemical
or biological warfare, landmines or cluster bombs |
Protect, educate and listen to consumers
See Consumer Protection |
Developed company-wide employee training
on privacy and information security
Shortened processing times for debit card transactions
in the United States |
Vital Statistics
| |
2009 |
2008 |
2007 |
| Countries we operate
in |
55 |
50 |
38 |
| Clients (millions; approximate) |
18 |
17 |
15 |
| Bank branches (Canada) |
1,197 |
1,174 |
1,146 |
| Insurance branches (Canada) |
49 |
35 |
21 |
| ATMs (Canada) |
4,214 |
4,149 |
3,946 |
| Bank branches (United States) |
438 |
439 |
350 |
| ATMs (United States) |
486 |
503 |
395 |
| Bank branches (Caribbean) |
125 |
127 |
45 |
| ATMs (Caribbean) |
330 |
312 |
78 |
| Bank branches (China) |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Issues
- Financial crisis and access to credit: The financial
crisis and resulting economic downturn posed difficult conditions
for our clients in 2009, but our employees worked diligently
to help them by extending credit and providing advice and
service that leveraged our global capabilities and expertise
as well as our competitive and financial strengths.
- Responsible lending: Financial services companies
can be accused of "loose" lending in good times,
and "tight" lending in bad times. We believe that
our strong risk management culture and balanced approach
help us ensure that our clients only take on debt that they
can repay, which is in the client's best interest as well
as the interests of our shareholders.
-
Direct versus indirect impact: Some interest groups
think that financial services companies bear a level of
responsibility for the environmental and social impacts
of our clients' businesses, and that banks should adjust
or curtail our lending activities based on their assessments
of our clients. It can be a challenge to determine the
line that separates a company's direct and indirect impact.
We believe our role is to take a balanced view on behalf
of all our stakeholders without being buffeted by short-term
trends or pressures from single-issue interest groups.
-
Information security: The dramatic rise in clients'
use of online, telephone and ATM banking over the past
few years is associated with increased potential of fraud
and security breaches that are outside our control. We
try to mitigate that potential risk with stringent practices,
education and online guarantees that protect our customers.
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