RBC Wealth Management, part of Royal Bank of Canada, is to scale back from four complexes to three in the western US region in a bid to cut costs, but no jobs are to be lost as a result of the realignment.

As of 1 July the firm’s Newport Beach, California location ceases to be a complex in its own right and will instead serve as an operating office that is part of RBC’s Phoenix, Nevada complex. The complexes in Beverly Hills and San Francisco remain unchanged.

RBC has said that it will evaluate other cost efficiencies to determine if any other of its seven US regions will be realigned.

While RBC may be looking to make cost savings through realigning the locations of its operations, the firm has been noted for the scale of its recruitment efforts in the US. Since last November, RBC Wealth Management has hired some 200 advisors in the US, with Credit Suisse, Smith Barney, UBS, Wachovia Securities (now Wells Fargo Advisors) and Merrill Lynch all seeing defections to the Canadian bank.

In other developments, Ralph Slocum has been appointed interim branch director of RBC’s office in Luis Obispo, California. Mr Slocum, who had previously been with UBS Wealth Management, joined RBC in January.