Wealth management net income at Royal Bank of Canada for the year ended 31 October stood at C$669 million (around $667.5 million), up by $86 million, or 15 per cent from the prior year, mainly due to higher average fee-based client assets and higher transaction volumes as market conditions improved.

The waxing fortunes of the bank come at a time when its wealth management operations continue to expand; the Toronto-listed bank recently announced its move to buy UK-listed BlueBay Asset Management, part of a trend of merger and acquisition moves by Canadian financial firms.

“Favourable income tax adjustments in the current year also contributed to the increase, while spread compression and the impact of the stronger Canadian dollar partially offset the increase,” RBC said in a statement today on its results.

“In wealth management, we are extending our leadership position in Canada, leveraging our position in the US as the sixth largest full-service wealth manager and expanding our presence in targeted international markets to solidify our position as a global leader in wealth and asset management,” Gordon Nixon, RBC president and chief executive, said.

“Our agreement to acquire BlueBay Asset Management highlights our strategic focus on growing our global asset management business,” Nixon said.

For the group as a whole, Royal Bank of Canada reported net income of C$5.2 billion (Diluted earnings per share (EPS) of C$3.46) for the year, up by C$1.4 billion or 35 per cent from a year ago. Results in the current year include a $116 million loss on the announced sale of Liberty Life Insurance Company (Liberty Life) and the 2009 results included a C$1 billion goodwill impairment charge.