Merchants' Bank first expanded beyond Halifax by establishing a network of "agencies" in Nova Scotian towns such as Pictou, Truro and Guysborough. Only a distant cousin to a full branch, these agencies were operated by prominent local businessmen who would carry on a limited banking business within their primary business. By opening an agency, the bank was able to provide rudimentary banking services in towns where the volume of business was not great enough to support the expense of a branch. These early agencies are the forerunners of today's supermarket branches and the beginning of Royal Bank's long established philosophy of reaching out to meet the banking needs of its customers.
