A wave of job layoffs in Royal Bank of Canada’s capital markets divisions have continued. These cuts are a part of broader reductions that the bank announced in August that may affect over 1,000 employees and are intended to help the bank navigate a difficult economic environment.
According to those with knowledge of the situation, among the departing employees are Lawrence McKean, an asset-backed securities trader, and Diana Di Luca, a preferred share and convertible bond dealer. Both are based in Toronto. According to the sources, who requested not to be identified discussing the departures, Miles Kirkwood, a seller for leveraged finance in Vancouver, and Melissa Primrose, who works in New York, both just departed the bank.
The largest bank in Canada announced last month that it would reduce its full-time equivalent workforce by up to 2% in the upcoming quarter as a result of an increase in expenses that negatively impacted third-quarter performance. As of July 31, the bank employed 93,753 people. For the third quarter of the fiscal year, non-interest expenses increased 23% to C$7.86 billion ($5.84 billion), vs the C$7.31 billion average analyst expectation given by Bloomberg.
RBC intends to reduce employment as CEO McKay pledges to save costs.
In an email, Jeff Lanthier, a communications officer at RBC, stated: “As reported at Q3, we’ve made the painful choice to reduce our team size by one to two percent in the current quarter. RBC hasn’t chosen this route very frequently, but we’re dedicated to treating people affected fairly and with respect during this transition.