Protection and Education
Privacy and Information Security
RBC is dedicated to safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality
of personal, business, financial and other information. In
fact, it is one of our highest priorities and remains a cornerstone
of our commitment to our clients, employees and other stakeholders.
We have had a formal privacy policy since 1991, overseen
by our Chief Privacy Officer, and we use rigorous security
safeguards and internal controls to ensure the privacy and
security of information entrusted to us. In 2008, we continued
to build upon our robust framework for managing privacy, information
security, and records/content management by focusing on important
areas such as client and employee awareness. This includes
the development of a Phishing
Resource Centre and a Make
Your Day Safer site to help educate our clients on how
to recognize fake websites, email and other scams, as well
as a focus on employee education and development. We also
enhanced our public website to make it easier for consumers
to obtain important information about privacy, information
security, and fraud prevention from one central site. Visit
the site at rbc.com/privacysecurity.
In the United States, RBC Bank also hosted a series of "Shred-AThons"
in 2008, where we offered free document shredding services
and educational literature to consumers and businesses. Hundreds
of thousands of pounds of personal identity papers were shredded
and consumers received information about identity theft.
Fraud Prevention
RBC has stringent security policies and practices, supported
by around-the-clock resources to prevent, detect and investigate
potential fraud. Our guarantees for online banking and self-directed
brokerage clients offer 100% reimbursement for funds lost
through unauthorized transactions in their accounts. We continue
to focus on operations introducing simpler processes with
positive results - as evident in a significant decrease in
the turnaround time for fraud claims resulting in a quicker
reimbursement to our clients. We continue to tailor fraud-education
initiatives including up-to-date tips and alerts, brochures
and client presentations. In the Caribbean, we offer fraud
monitoring in a number of countries where we offer card services.
This initiative began in 2007 and has made RBC unique in many
countries in the region. In 2008, we set up the only full-scale
Fraud Monitoring Department among Trinidad and Tobago's banks,
using the Risknet fraud monitoring tool. Risknet is a fraud-control
product used for managing card fraud.
Treating Customers Fairly
RBC abides by a number of "market conduct" rules
and regulations designed to protect financial services clients,
such as the Canadian cost of borrowing and other disclosure
requirements, U.S. fair lending requirements and U.K. Treating
Customers Fairly (TCF) regime. In addition, the Canadian banking
industry has developed a number of voluntary codes to protect
consumers, to which our Canadian businesses have committed.
For more information, see Voluntary
Codes and Public Commitments
Know Your Client Rules
Know Your Client rules are key to the protection of all our
clients. Our employees are required to make all necessary
efforts to understand a client's profile, and financial and
personal objectives before making recommendations relevant
to their banking, investment, insurance and other financial
services needs. Our due diligence also covers compliance with
applicable securities, consumer protection, antimoney laundering,
anti-terrorism and economic sanctions legislation.
Mutual Funds Governance
Our goal is to help develop and follow best practices in
the mutual fund industry. RBC Asset Management is a member
and our employees are active leaders in the Investment Funds
Institute of Canada. RBC Asset Management is also a founding
member of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance. Our
publication Mutual Funds and Governance: Taking Care of
Your Investments highlights our commitment to independent
fund governance and to protecting the interests of mutual
fund investors.
Responsiveness
RBC has a fully embedded client loyalty strategy, of which
client satisfaction is the end goal. Our strategy includes
three parts: organize the company around clients; make it
easy for employees to serve clients; and increase client loyalty.
Client Satisfaction
We have a well-established customer satisfaction research
program to measure client loyalty on a regular basis. This
measure is tied to employees' performance management and customer
satisfaction training. We set and monitor quantitative targets
to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. Our extensive
research evaluates all drivers of client loyalty and satisfaction,
including how RBC compares to our key competition.
Clients surveyed
(thousands) |
Canada |
U.S. |
Caribbean |
| 2008 |
492 |
0* |
16.5 |
| 2007 |
492 |
135 |
- |
| 2006 |
415 |
97 |
- |
* U.S. operations were focused on the
integration of Alabama National BanCorporation in 2008.
Acting on Feedback
They say what gets measured gets improved. Every year, RBC
businesses track client satisfaction and use feedback to make
improvements. Client research helped provide direction for
a number of new initiatives or improvements in 2008. Some
are highlighted below.
Canada
- More green banking options such as paperless statements
- Banking products and services tailored for newcomers
to Canada
- New banking channels and functionalities
- Product features that reward customers for their loyalty
- New Family Financial Kit to help parents of young children
organize their family's financial future
- Enhanced capacity for giving advice in order to meet
clients' banking and financial needs
- More relevant marketing and communication materials
- Enhanced disability insurance product with the option
to convert to a long-term care insurance policy between
the ages of 55 and 65
- Introduction of a new, combined term and critical illness
insurance option
- Improved response time and resolution of client investigation
requests
United States
- Remote Deposit Capture lets clients encode deposit items
from their place of business instead of having to visit
the bank
- Redesigned website for easier navigation based on contemporary
architecture standards
- New bill payment platform gives clients the ability to
receive billing electronically
Caribbean
- New Customer Experience Blueprint and Client Experience
Programme serves as an operational framework that covers
all aspects of a customer's experience with RBC, enabling
us to better attract, serve and retain customers.
Client Complaint Process
Our formal process for handling client concerns is outlined
on the Make a
Complaint section of our website and in our Straight
Talk® brochures. Our focus is to enable employees
to resolve client concerns at first point of contact (FPOC),
as this leads to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty.
In our Canadian banking business, 90% of reported complaints
are effectively resolved at FPOC. If clients believe an issue
to be unresolved following receipt of a response from the
RBC representative dealing with their concern, they may appeal
to the Office of the Ombudsman, which examines decisions made
by RBC companies and reviews their compliance with proper
business procedures. The Office ensures clients get a fair
and impartial hearing and are treated with consideration and
respect. We also respect the dignity and privacy of all parties
involved in the proceedings. Certain disputes that remain
unresolved after being reviewed by the Ombudsman may be directed
to a number of agencies and regulators listed on rbc.com and
in our Straight Talk brochures.
