RBC HSBC Canada Deal Unites Two Financial Giants

The RBC HSBC Canada deal is a significant development in the financial industry. It unites two major players, RBC and HSBC, in a joint venture that aims to provide enhanced services to Canadian customers.

This partnership brings together the strengths of both banks, creating a more robust and diverse financial institution. The deal allows for a broader range of products and services to be offered, including banking, lending, and investment services.

The merged entity will have a significantly larger customer base and a more extensive network of branches and ATMs. This will make it easier for customers to access their accounts and conduct financial transactions.

HSBC Global Transfers service will no longer support intra-HSBC group payments between your own accounts and family and friends in selected countries/regions from 10 p.m. EST 16 March 2024.

You'll need to set up new payees with their Royal Bank of Canada account details for any future payments to your beneficiaries who have HSBC Canada accounts.

Future-dated payments set up to HSBC Canada accounts using the International Payments service will continue to be processed for 6 months after the sale.

Scheduled future-dated and recurring payments set up in HSBC Canada internet banking or mobile banking app will be stopped from 10 p.m. EST 16 March 2024.

For 6 months after the sale, payments originally going to your or your payees' HSBC Canada account(s) will be re-directed to your or your payees' new Royal Bank of Canada account(s).

Normal fees will apply when using the HSBC Global Money Transfers (GMT) or International Payments services to make payments to Canada.

Here's a summary of the payment changes:

After the sale, payees set up for HSBC Canada using the Global Transfer (GT) service or Global Transfer Friends and Family (GTFF) service will no longer be valid from 10 p.m. EST 16 March 2024.

You'll need to set up new payees using the Royal Bank of Canada account details. This applies to both personal and business accounts.

If you have future-dated payments set up using the International Payments service, these payments will continue to be processed for 6 months after the sale, but will then fail.

You'll need to re-set up these payments using the new Royal Bank of Canada account details.

Here are the key changes to payees after the sale:

You'll need to set up new payees for any future payments to beneficiaries with HSBC Canada accounts.

In Canada, RBC welcomed 4,500 employees from HSBC Bank Canada and its subsidiaries after the acquisition.

The acquisition also brought in 780,000 clients from HSBC Bank Canada and its subsidiaries.

RBC's acquisition of HSBC's Canadian business was the largest completed bank acquisition in Canadian history.

The transaction involved a complex process, receiving clearance from the Competition Bureau on September 1, 2023, and approval from the Minister of Finance on December 21, 2023.

The RBC HSBC Canada Acquisition was a significant deal that took place in 2024. Royal Bank of Canada acquired 100 percent of the issued common equity of HSBC Bank Canada for an all-cash purchase price of $13.5-billion.

The transaction included the acquisition of all of the preferred shares and outstanding subordinated debt issued by HSBC Bank Canada and held by the HSBC Group for approximately $1.1-billion and $1-billion respectively. This move resulted in RBC welcoming 4,500 employees and 780,000 clients from HSBC Bank Canada and its subsidiaries.

RBC was represented in-house by a team of over 60 lawyers within the RBC Law Group, who led a team of external legal advisors on the acquisition.

If you have payees set up for HSBC Canada using the Global Transfer (GT) service or Global Transfer Friends and Family (GTFF) service, their details will no longer be valid from 10 p.m. EST 16 March 2024 (10 a.m. 17 March in Hong Kong).

These payees will be deleted from your Global Transfers/ GTFF payment journeys for you. You'll need to set them up again with their new Royal Bank of Canada account details.

If you use the International Payment service to pay yourself or others in Canada, your payee listings won't be changed. However, new payees and payment instructions will need to be set up by you, using your or your payee's new Royal Bank of Canada account details.

Future-dated payments set up to HSBC Canada accounts using the International Payments service will continue to be processed for 6 months after the sale. After that, these payments will not be processed with HSBC and will fail.

Here's a summary of the changes for your payees:

RBC's acquisition of HSBC Canada is a significant move, with a winning bid of $13.5bn. This deal has set the stage for RBC to accelerate its growth strategy.

The bank is positioning itself to take advantage of its scale and speed up decision making. This will help RBC focus on delivering trusted advice, ideas, and experiences to its clients.

To achieve this, RBC has made changes to its executive team to align leaders and teams with growth priorities. Neil McLaughlin, who led RBC's personal and commercial bank during the HSBC Canada acquisition and integration, is leading the charge.

The integration has allowed RBC to expand its commercial banking capabilities and global wealth management business. It has also enabled the bank to advance its digital platforms and strengthen its deposit franchise.

RBC has fast-tracked the development of various new products and services, including foreign currency accounts and liquidity management products. This is well-timed, given immigration continues to fuel Canada's population growth, creating a pipeline of prospective clients with unique needs and circumstances.

The integration of HSBC's Canadian business into RBC was a massive undertaking, to say the least. Over 780,000 clients and 4,500 employees had to be migrated to RBC systems within a 48-hour period.

The deal required RBC to extract all client and employee data from HSBC's systems and place it on top of RBC's technology stack immediately following the closure of the deal. This meant migrating more than 780,000 clients and 4,500 employees to RBC systems.

The conversion of five new business lines and the overnight transformation of more than 125 branches from HSBC Bank Canada to RBC was a monumental task. The integration project was overseen by Neil McLaughlin, Bruce Ross, and Kelly Pereira.

More than 2,000 tech employees spent almost 18 months preparing for the conversion weekend, planning everything down to the minute. The long-term investment in next generation technology delivery platforms was pivotal to the successful execution of the HSBC Bank Canada acquisition and conversion.

RBC is positioning itself for accelerated growth after acquiring HSBC Canada for $13.5 billion. This move has set the stage for the bank to take advantage of its scale and speed up decision-making.

Dave McKay, RBC's CEO, has stated that the acquisition will help the bank focus on bringing clients trusted advice, ideas, and experiences that they truly value. This is a key aspect of RBC's growth strategy.

The bank has recently made changes to its executive team to align leaders and teams with growth priorities. Neil McLaughlin, a key leader in the acquisition and integration process, has played a crucial role in ensuring a consistent banking experience for HSBC's Canadian customers.

RBC has fast-tracked the development of new products and services, including foreign currency accounts, liquidity management products, and the ability to trade on international markets. This is a significant undertaking that has been well-timed given Canada's population growth fueled by immigration.