Royal Bank of Canada plans to launch a direct-to-consumer bank in the U.S. in hopes of reaching affluent consumers.

“You’ll see us likely launch a direct-to-consumer bank in the United States sometime at the end of this year or early next year, really focused on a higher net worth customer, not dissimilar to some of our competitors in the U.S.,” said CEO David McKay in a call with investors late last week. “We have a number of strategies looking at that to move it from high beta to mid beta type relationships.”

At this point, it is unclear whether RBC and City National Bank, a California- based bank that RBC acquired in 2015, will retain separate brand identities. The acquisition enabled RBC to have more than 2,000 financial advisors in the U.S. and $336 billion in wealth and asset management from U.S.- based assets.

With respect to City National, RBC plans to deepen relationships with clients, including growing its private client group, McKay explained.

See also: RBC fuses payments and messaging for business clients 

“Mortgages are an important low-risk anchor product that allows us to build deeper, long-term relationships with our City National clients,” McKay said. “We are also increasingly focused on leveraging our strengths to boost City National’s digital bank offerings. We continue to expect strong loan and deposit growth, given the multiyear investments in sales capacity.”

RBC’s new direct-to-consumer banking initiative will reportedly move away from traditional wealth management services with a shift to high-net-worth clients.

So far, RBC’s U.S. strategy is generating results. RBC reported $536 million in U.S. net income for 2019 last week, which represents a 39% increase from the previous year. RBC’s earnings in the U.S. accounted for more than 20% of the bank’s total revenue for last year.

McKay attributes the growth to the bank’s continued efforts to invest in new revenue streams and focus on markets that are showing signs of sustainable growth.

“These results reflect the underlying strength of our diversified business mix, our focused strategy — we remain focused on prudently managing our risks — leveraging our scale and competitive position, and balancing our investments in technology and talent for long-term, sustainable growth,” McKay said.

Bank Innovation Ignite, which will take place on March 2-3 in Seattle, is a must-attend industry event for professionals overseeing financial technologies, product experiences and services. This is an exclusive, invitation-only event for executives eager to learn about the latest innovations. Request your invitation.