Structure and responsibility
RBC has a strong culture of risk management. Our Group Risk Management team, led by our Chief Risk Officer, is responsible for working in partnership with our businesses to identify, assess, manage and report on all risks within an enterprise-wide framework.

We have a formal structure of management and Board Committees, including the Ethics and Compliance Committee at the senior management level. These committees are supported by authorities and accountabilities assigned at the business level.

Policies and procedures
Like any citizen, RBC Financial Group and our employees must comply with the laws, regulations and ethical codes of conduct in all the markets in which we do business. All employees worldwide are also governed by our internal Code of Conduct, and everyone, including senior management, is tested regularly to ensure understanding of the Code.

RBC has developed formal policies to address anti-money laundering, conflict of interest, insider trading, client and employee privacy, and “know your client” (client due diligence).

We have formalized specific lending policies outlining the requirements for environmental risk management, lending to political parties and financing military materiel. We have integrated management policies and processes in place to support the assessment and management of risks.

In 2004, we enhanced the whistle-blowing section of our Code to include a reporting hotline, a new requirement under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, setting out the process by which RBC’s employees can confidentially and anonymously relay concerns about a questionable accounting or auditing matter directly to RBC’s Ombudsman.

Employee training
All the best policies in the world are just words on a page unless employees understand and have the proper tools to implement them, so we ensure that policies contain a clear plan for communication, training, implementation and ongoing monitoring to review their effectiveness. For example, to enhance our anti-money laundering policy, we are implementing an enhanced software system to assess transactions for suspicious activities.

In 2004, RBC launched a new online policy and procedures library system to make it easier for employees to access policies and related documents.

Crisis management
RBC’s Crisis Management Teams are responsible for the overall identification, isolation and management of major crises, and are activated when crises emerge that are both within and outside of RBC’s control. We also have formal business continuity management processes in place right across the organization.

In 2004, the corporate Crisis Management team set up an emergency information telephone line, available to employees and families in event of RBC-wide crisis, in case of incidents such as power blackouts, severe weather conditions, or other situations affecting our ability to access RBC offices or serve our clients.

Leadership
In 2004, RBC announced a donation of $500,000 to establish the RBC Centre for Risk Management at Dalhousie University, in Halifax. “The Centre will take a holistic approach to risk management by studying how individuals and organizations make decisions to manage risk from all sources,” says Abol Jalilvand, Dalhousie’s Dean of Management. “It will provide world-class learning and research opportunities for students, practicing managers and researchers nationally and internationally.”