Royal Bank of Canada’s discretionary and tech-related expenses increased by 22% for the second consecutive quarter as the bank looks to continue improving its digital offerings to customers through AI. 

“We’re currently investing in technology to further modernize our client tools and infrastructure to drive scalable growth in the future,” David McKay, president and chief executive at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), said during today’s second-quarter earnings call.

THE BIG PICTURE: The $1.3 trillion bank laid out its plan to upgrade its tech stack and better serve customers during its Q1 earnings call. As part of this effort, RBC announced in April that it will use AI platform Conquest Planning to provide customized financial strategies for the bank’s clients, McKay said. 

RBC will implement the technology to provide real-time financial planning advice to customers based on changes to an individual’s account, an April RBC release stated. 

The use of Conquest Planning is part of the bank’s digital initiative, aimed at improving customer offerings, the bank’s earnings presentation said. 

BY THE NUMBERS: RBC reported for Q2: 

• Non-interest expenses rose 16% year over year to $4.6 billion; 
• Active digital users increased 6% YoY to 8.7 million; and 
• Active mobile users jumped 10% YoY to 6.4 million. 

NOTEWORTHY: RBC in February completed the acquisition of AI-driven real estate platform OJO Canada, which offers digitally enabled and insight-driven experiences to help Canadians make home-buying decisions, an RBC release said. 

As part of the acquisition, the bank named Karen Starns as the new CEO of the subsidiary. She had been OJO’s chief marketing and communications officer. She will be focused on building metrics dashboards to help employees view performance updates and progress on housing initiatives, a bank release said. 

FLASHBACK: In November, RBC implemented AI-powered Coveo Relevance Cloud for Financial Services within its processes. The platform uses predictive search technology to aggregate data sources for customer lending, revenue and expense forecasting inquiries, Michael Jepsen, vice president of sales at Coveo, previously told Bank Automation News. 

FUTURE LOOK: The bank is looking to minimize expenses without negatively affecting clients or disrupting the bank’s technology processes, McKay said during the call. 

“The entire leadership team is committed to actively executing on our efficiency playbook,” he said. “We’re focusing on curtailing expense growth and prioritizing investments without impacting our ability to serve our clients or opportunities to attract new clients.” 

Editor’s Note: All dollar amounts in USD 

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