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The Seas Beyond: International Expansion
New York
After the close of the Spanish-American War in 1898, Edson Pease, then manager of Montreal branch, advised the Merchants' Bank of Halifax directors of the strategic benefits of pushing the bank southward. With help and advice from bank president Thomas Kenny's old friend Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, then Governor of New York State, the Merchants' opened, in July 1899, in rented premises at 16 Exchange Place. Initially, New York served as a financial intermediary in the bank's expansion into Cuba and the lucrative Cuban-American sugar trade. As predicted, business grew rapidly requiring a move to larger premises at 68 William Street where the agency remained until 1988 when it relocated to Financial Square.
Marching in stride with the post Second World War boom in the U.S. economy, New York agency gained immense stature because it positioned the bank on the doorstep of New York's money market ensuring access to global trade and corporate accounts. Beginning in 1945, Royal Bank enlarged the scope of its U.S. operations with the opening of a representative office in Chicago and with subsequent openings of rep offices in other key American cities over the next three decades. An adjunct to New York agency, the Royal Bank of Canada Trust Company was incorporated in 1951 to serve as registrar and paying agent for corporate and governmental clients issuing bonds on the New York market.
Capitalizing on opportunities resulting from the erosion of once rigid financial borders separating Canada and the United States, Royal Bank is carefully growing its U.S. presence by acquiring businesses that offer a competitive advantage and represent a good strategic fit. Royal Bank's common shares have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since October 1995.
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