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- RBC Letter was born as The Royal Bank of Canada Monthly
Letter, published April 1920 as a business publication to
convey information and commentary on financial and economic
matters.
- In December 1943, it was transformed into a general interest
letter, still known as the Royal Bank Monthly Letter. The
Letter became an essay series that "tried to help people
understand the world around them, and better understand
their own lives."
- The December 1943 edition, on India, was reprinted by
the United Kingdom Information Service and distributed throughout
the British Commonwealth.
- In the mid-1960s, one Canadian in 48 received a copy of
Royal Bank Letter.
- At its height, the distribution of the Letter was some
650,000 copies a month.
- In 1980, it was renamed The Royal Bank Letter, and the
name was streamlined in 1990 to Royal Bank Letter.
 Royal Bank Letter 75th Anniversary Special Commemorative
Issue, 1994
For
more history of the Royal Bank Letter, take a look at the
special commemorative issue
of the Letter, published in 1994 to celebrate a triple anniversary:
the 75th year since the founding of the Letter in 1920, its
50th year as a general interest publication, and the 125th
anniversary of Royal Bank.
- The RBC Letter has rarely been advertised or promoted.
Its reputation and distribution grew by word of mouth.
- The RBC Letter takes the form of one essay on one subject
by one author. Although published by a financial institution,
the RBC Letter seldom has a word to say about finance, but
covers an eclectic range of topics such as education, business,
science, Canadian culture, geography and history.
- The Letter has been reprinted in publications around the
world, translated into dozens of other languages, stored
in public libraries, and used for years as a teaching aid
in schools.
- The back-catalogue of Royal Bank Letters (1943 to present)
includes 544 issues.
- In the past, the RBC Letter was mailed free of charge
to subscribers worldwide, and was also available for pick
up in branches.
- Current issues of the RBC letter have been available on
the internet since 1998.
- In 2002, it was renamed the RBC Letter to reflect the
new brand name of RBC Financial Group.
[ Return to RBC Letter home page ]
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