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Royal Bank of Canada missed analyst earnings estimates for the fourth quarter, largely as a result of lower trading revenues, and scaled back its annual return-on-equity target amid concerns about low interest rates and potential changes to capital requirements.

But Canada’s largest bank says it is poised for improved performance in the coming year, RBC chief executive Dave McKay told analysts on a conference call Wednesday.

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“We feel we’re exiting the year with enormous organic momentum,” McKay said. “We continue to look for opportunities to return capital to shareholders.”

RBC’s fourth quarter net income of $2.5 billion, or $1.65 a share, was down two per cent from a year ago.

Analysts had been expecting earnings of $1.71 a share for the quarter ending Oct. 31.

“We see these as a solid set of results, with the miss (to consensus analyst estimates) driven by volatile trading, offset by better performances in some of the steadier business,” Citigroup analyst Ian Sealey said in a note to clients.