Reflecting on 2024, what were your bank’s major milestones from an operational perspective and how did you achieve them? Conversely, what were the setbacks and challenges encountered along the way, and what measures were taken to surmount them?

As we continue to execute our growth strategy in Asia, a key focus has been on enhancing our client onboarding journey to ensure a seamless experience for both clients and relationship managers (RMs). Importantly, we’ve maintained a strong focus on risk management as the regulatory environment continues to evolve.

We have also been building our operational capability in Asia to ensure clients benefit from RBC’s position as one of the world’s largest wealth managers. Clients value RBC’s financial stability and strength as a global institution, and our One RBC approach ensures they leverage resources from across the bank and have access to best-in-class solutions to help them achieve their long-term financial goals.

How did your bank leverage and adopt technology regionally in 2024, and what is planned for 2025? What are the key metrics employed to assess technological investments and which specific investments have had the most significant impact on revenue generation and overall client experience?

We continue to leverage technology to enhance the digital experience for both clients and RMs. Digital touchpoints and aggregating data help create a more seamless experience for our clients and enable us to deliver more tailored solutions. However, it’s important not to lose sight of relationships and the value of in-person communication. More efficient processes enable our RMs to deepen their relationship with clients.

Given the increasing sophistication of digital channels and other client-facing innovations, how do you maintain an equilibrium between high-touch client services and cutting-edge technologies?

We are focused on providing an exceptional client experience by leveraging data-driven insights and the creativity and expertise of our people.

We are investing in artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies to deliver insights and predict outcomes that our clients could never have imagined in the past – all while maintaining trust around the use and safety of their data.

We strive to earn the right to be our clients’ first choice, and we hold ourselves to the highest standards to build trust. Our privacy management practices, including RBC’s Code of Conduct, are based on these values and comply with applicable laws and regulations.

With customer wants and needs changing, we’re not just digitising our existing products, but co-creating new services and experiences with our clients to engage with them in deeper, smarter, and simpler ways. Innovation is both complementary and supplementary to the offerings we have to create exceptional client experiences.

As a result of evolving regulatory requirements, private banks are reviewing their compliance systems and processes. What are the current operational challenges posed by the regulations in the jurisdictions in which you operate, and what can be done to effectively address and overcome these challenges?

We have been increasing our investments in anti-money laundering (AML), third-party risk management, data security and governance. As regulatory frameworks become more aligned across jurisdictions, adopting a standardised approach based on best practices enables global financial institutions such as RBC to meet these requirements more effectively.

Operational resilience is at the top of private bank’s minds and cyber resilience has also moved up the agenda in recent years. How does your bank effectively manage third-party dependencies and enhance the operational resilience against the failure of third-party IT solutions?

We start by establishing clear distinctions between functions to be handled in-house and those best suited for third-party providers. Our onboarding process includes thorough due diligence, and we maintain rigorous ongoing monitoring to ensure service quality and risk management. We also implement redundancies and strong backup and recovery protocols to enhance operational resilience.

RBC’s Supplier Code of Conduct is principles-based and sets out our expectations of suppliers to ensure their behaviour aligns with RBC standards in four key areas: business integrity, responsible business practices, responsible treatment of individuals and information and data management.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has both promises and challenges for the private banking industry. What are some of the AI use cases in your bank over the past year? How has AI been helping the bank to improve operational efficiency? What are some of the pain points banks need to overcome in AI implementation? What’s your plan for AI adaptations in 2025?

In an era of unprecedented and rapid change, RBC is building an innovation ecosystem that empowers our clients, advances businesses, and supports our communities. We look to create more value through a ‘bionic blend’ of people and technology and rethink the role of technology in financial services to better anticipate client needs and deliver them in innovative ways.

We have maintained a strong leadership position in artificial intelligence in financial services, with RBC ranked in the top three for the third straight year in 2024 for AI maturity among 50 global financial institutions in the Evident AI Index.

To continue to innovate and harness the potential of generative AI (genAI) solutions optimised for financial services, RBC has announced a partnership with Cohere, a leader in security and privacy-focused enterprise AI. The platform, called North for Banking, will integrate with RBC’s and Cohere’s own proprietary foundation models, as well as RBC’s internal platforms with the goal to accelerate the development of genAI solutions at RBC securely and efficiently.

While we believe in the transformational potential of AI, RBC is mindful of the risks around the use of AI and is committed to ensuring the responsible development of AI tools, products,Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) Principles that are part of the bank’s overall ESG commitment and sit at the centre of its AI endeavours, ensuring that high standards of accountability, fairness, privacy and security, and transparency continue to be upheld in all the bank’s AI efforts.

With more discussions surrounding data utilisation, banks have developed a profound appreciation for the worth of the data they possess. How do you identify, correct, and maintain data within the bank, and how are you leveraging data to enhance revenues and simultaneously enhance the quality of customer services and offerings?

We have robust processes and controls established to ensure effective data management. Additionally, we are strengthening our data governance framework to enhance oversight of critical data assets and usage.

Our investments in data analytics and intelligence capabilities have also yielded meaningful improvements in decision-making and client service, particularly in pricing and retention strategies.

What is the sweet spot for a bank’s cost-to-income ratio in the region, and how are banks tackling the cost side of the equation in Asia, whether relating to investments, real estate, or other operating costs?

Scaling efficiently is more important than ever in an environment of increasing regulation, rising inflation and rapid technology advancement. We remain committed to investing in key front-office areas such as investments and client-onboarding while also developing an operations and technology strategy, which plays a crucial role in cost management, ensuring the right technology supports scalable growth, operations optimisation, and enabling support functions to leverage global efficiencies.

The pandemic popularised work-from-home (WFH) policies and saw a rise in demand for flexible working arrangements. As we transition into a post-pandemic era, what are your bank’s policies in the areas of WFH, flexible work and parental leave? How has WFH impacted the bank’s operating costs, including the need for office space? Are flexible working arrangements and WFH here to stay for the long term?

We recognise that achieving a better work-life balance can enhance well-being, productivity, and performance. We understand the importance of flexibility and offer a range of work arrangements, ensuring that they align with business needs and objectives.

As a relationship-driven bank, human connection is also core to our culture. We believe working together in person strengthens relationships and face-to-face interactions encourage collaboration, innovation and creativity that drive the success of our business.