1st Quarter Results

All amounts are in Canadian dollars and are based on financial statements prepared in compliance with International Accounting Standard 34 Interim Financial Reporting, unless otherwise noted.

TORONTO, February 24, 2016 - Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) today reported net income of $2,447 million for the first quarter ended January 31, 2016, flat from the prior year. Our results reflect higher earnings in Wealth Management which benefited from the inclusion of our acquisition of City National Bank (City National) which closed on November 2, 2015 and contributed $53 million to earnings; $107 million(1) excluding amortization of intangibles of $31 million after-tax and $23 million after-tax of acquisition and integration costs. Results also reflect record earnings in Personal & Commercial Banking and higher earnings in Investor & Treasury Services offset by lower results in Insurance and Capital Markets. Our results include favourable foreign exchange translation. Our provision for credit loss (PCL) ratio of 0.31% increased 7 bps from the prior year, resulting from the low oil price environment. In addition, today we announced an increase to our quarterly dividend of $0.02 or 3% to $0.81 per share.

Compared to last quarter, net income decreased $146 million or 6%, mainly reflecting the prior quarter net favourable tax adjustments recorded in Corporate Support. Higher earnings in Investor & Treasury Services, Wealth Management, Personal & Commercial Banking and Capital Markets were also partially offset by lower earnings in Insurance.

We maintained a strong Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 9.9%, down 70 bps from the prior quarter, reflecting the impact from the closing of the City National acquisition.

"Within the context of a challenging macro environment, we delivered solid earnings of $2.4 billion this quarter, and I'm pleased to announce a 3% increase to our quarterly dividend," said Dave McKay, RBC President and CEO. "In today's environment, I'm confident that RBC's diversified business model and disciplined risk and cost management approach position us well to continue to support our clients and deliver long-term value to our shareholders."

Q1 2016 compared to Q1 2015

• Net income of $2,447 million (flat from $2,456 million)

•  Diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.58 (down $0.07 from $1.65)

•  Return on common equity (ROE)(2) of 15.3% (down 400 bps from 19.3%)

•  Basel III CET1 ratio of 9.9% (up 30 bps from 9.6%)

Q1 2016 compared to Q4 2015

• Net income of $2,447 million (down 6% from $2,593 million)

•  Diluted EPS of $1.58 (down $0.16 from $1.74)

•  ROE of 15.3% (down 260 bps from 17.9%)

•  Basel III CET1 ratio of 9.9% (down 70 bps from 10.6%)

(1)   City National results excluding amortization of intangibles, and acquisition and integration costs is a non-GAAP measure that provides readers with a better understanding of management's perspective on our performance.

(2)   This measure does not have a standardized meaning under GAAP. For further information, refer to the Key performance and non-GAAP measures section of this report.

Please click on the associated PDF to view the full announcement :
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/2302Q_-2016-2-25.pdf