Royal Bank of Canada – RBC confirmed yesterday, Friday, that it completed on Thursday its merger deal with HSBC Canada as planned.

The merger of the two banks was announced in November 2022. It is valued at 13.5 billion dollars. The company said in a press release that the process went through several stages to obtain approval, and the acquisition was officially completed on Thursday.

According to Dave McKay, President and CEO of Royal Bank of Canada, the merger of HSBC Canada with his institution will provide Canadians with an "unparalleled banking experience and added value."

Under this deal, 4,500 employees from HSBC Canada will be transferred to the Royal Bank of Canada.

When approving the merger last December, Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland imposed several conditions on RBC, including guaranteeing that no HSBC employees would be laid off within six months after the closing date, or two years for frontline employees.

The minister also requested RBC to maintain banking services in at least 33 HSBC branches in Canada for four years.

Last week, an RBC spokesperson said the institution would close 25 HSBC branches and convert dozens of others to RBC locations.

According to Christine Stewart, some of the branches to be closed are located near existing branches of this bank.

The reopened branches and offices that will be transferred will open next Monday under the banner of Royal Bank of Canada – RBC.

When the merger was announced in 2022, HSBC had nearly 800,000 clients, 130 branches, 4,200 employees, and a market share of 2%.

RBC said it will welcome 780,000 new clients as part of this deal.

HSBC also owns assets worth 130 billion dollars, making it the seventh largest bank in Canada.

In anticipation of the sale, HSBC informed its clients that their products, services, and balances will be automatically migrated to similar offers and accounts provided by RBC.