Last week, Canada gave the final approval to HSBC Holdings’ HSBC proposed divestiture of its unit to Royal Bank of Canada RY. The consent is conditioned on several steps to be taken by RY following the completion of the deal, which will make the company a banking behemoth in Canada.
The transaction, announced in November 2022 and valued at C$13.5 billion ($10.1 billion), had been under scrutiny for its potential impact on competition in the country. The acquisition is expected to further bolster RY’s position in a market where the top six banks control around 80% of banking assets.
In the press note released on Thursday, the Canadian finance ministry stated that the deal had been approved by the federal banking regulator and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions too. Earlier in September, the Competition Bureau gave its nod to the transaction.
Some of the notable conditions to be fulfilled by Royal Bank of Canada…
