RBC takes the open road

As the sixth-largest financial institution in terms of assets in the US, and with a captive distribution network, the Royal Bank of Canada is unique among structured product providers in the US. It is also one of the few banks that practices open architecture. Shamillia Sivathambu reports

It is generally agreed that it is important to have a captive distribution network - especially one that is both productive and wide. The three major structured product providers in the North American market - Merrill Lynch, Citibank and Morgan Stanley - own captive retail distribution channels, but none of them are open to third-party products. This puts them in a position whereby they collectively control more than 50% of the country's retail structured products market, making it difficult for