US and Canadian banks may have had a head start in generative AI, but some European banks are trying to close the gap. Those in charge of harnessing the technology at big banks in Europe say they are gaining confidence in its use: adapting marketing shots to certain client profiles, helping sales managers to sift through product policies and much more.

When Scotiabank’s long-serving chief executive Brian Porter stepped down at the end of January 2023, after 10 years at the helm and more than 40 years at the bank, he left an institution that was in better shape than he found it, but one that still had much to do.

Cross-border transactions involving multiple products that combine advisory, equity and debt financing are the bread and butter of a franchise like RBC Capital Markets. The firm’s performance in 2023 makes it a worthy winner of the award for Canada’s best investment bank.

By starting from a blank sheet of paper, Royal Bank of Canada hopes its new US cash-management platform will allow it to capture a greater share of wallet from existing clients while not being held back by legacy technology.

It is not hard to find short-term worries over global markets’ state of readiness for the US’s transition to one-day settlement in late May. But even if the UK, Europe and those Asian markets still using two-day settlement can adapt to the shift in the longer term, they will also face intense pressure to lessen their dislocation from the US cycle by copying its move. Many also fear the ultimate end-game of same-day or even instant settlement.

Sometimes a franchise is suited to a moment. And in an awards period that began with the catastrophe unfolding in Ukraine, ended with a meltdown in US regional banking, and was accompanied throughout by eye-watering rate hikes, clients had no shortage of demands of their investment banks.

Canada’s banking market remains as competitive as ever, but one bank stands out for the strong performance of its underlying businesses as well as for completing the standout strategic move of the period. Bank of Montreal (BMO) is Canada’s Best Bank.

Groups such as Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, CDPQ and British Columbia Investment were forerunners in the development of new private-market asset classes, particularly infrastructure. Euromoney traces the evolution of the funds’ approaches and scale to the point where they are desired partners for private assets worldwide.

Celebrating its 190th anniversary this year, making it older than the confederation of Canada itself, Scotiabank has quite a heritage. So does Brian Porter, its chief executive, who has been at the firm for his whole career, stretching back to 1981. But when he took the helm in 2013, his job was to reposition a bank that might best have been described as a mini-HSBC.

BMO Capital Markets is Canada’s best investment bank this year, rewarding the momentum that has propelled it up the advisory and equity capital markets league tables while also gaining ground in debt capital markets.

Euromoney hit the road in style during April, driving for eight hours in the snow to cover one story.

In frozen far northern Alberta, Euromoney meets perhaps the world’s least likely sovereign wealth fund, investing compensation settlement money for Canada’s Little Red River Cree Nation. It is rigorous, disciplined and sophisticated, and reminds us that sustainable finance has been around for centuries.

The acquisition of Bank of the West by Bank of Montreal is complementary and affordable, argues BMO’s chief executive Darryl White.

Royal Bank of Canada reckons it is in a good position to capitalize on opportunities in a rising rate environment – and has room to grow in investment banking.

It was another strong year for Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), which saw increased provisioning at the start of the pandemic but had good performance throughout and is now well placed to benefit from the post-crisis recovery. Once again it is Euromoney’s choice as Canada’s best bank.

TD Securities is far from being the biggest investment bank in Canada, but its performance in the awards period saw it post impressive gains in both its investment banking and markets businesses. After many years, it dislodges its bigger rival RBC Capital Markets to win Euromoney’s award for Canada’s best investment bank.

A history of patient investment meant Royal Bank of Canada was well-placed to navigate a turbulent year.

Until the coronavirus crisis, it was a familiar year for RBC Capital Markets in the awards period. As usual, the bank faced strong individual competitors in almost every business, product or sector in which it operates, but no firm rivals it across the board.

Canada’s biggest bank is a regular winner of the award for Canada’s best investment bank, but in 2020 it has clocked up another accolade for the first time since 2004.

Hedge funds and real money clients looking to shake up their FX trading strategy now have the option of basing their trades on proprietary market analysis from RBC.

The bank is penetrating deeper into its home markets to complement its long-standing international growth initiatives.

Canada’s investment banking franchises have had a challenging environment to deal with in 2018 and 2019. But RBC Capital Markets has weathered the situation well and is Canada’s best investment bank.

Canada has a clutch of big banks that dominate its financial services industry and competition is fierce in most segments. Few are able to compete across the whole spectrum, however. TD Bank is one that can, and the last 12 months marked another successful period for the firm, making it once again Canada’s best bank.

Protectionism is undermining an otherwise moderate global outlook as growth continues, labour markets tighten and geopolitical crises calm.

Macro and monetary policy factors are affecting some currencies more than traditional commodity triggers.

With asset prices high, RBC has made a virtue of a focus on the organic build of its footprint, with tech as important as ever.

Frequent issuers on both sides of the Atlantic are exploring new ways to concentrate their high-quality liabilities into fewer more-liquid bonds to avoid paying a premium as markets sell off.

Vancity is the largest credit union in Canada, but by 2007 it was acting like a commercial bank – yet now, after steering every part of the business back to being mission-based, it is delivering record profits, lower risk, new membership and improved employee engagement. Has it shown that the ‘triple bottom line’ of people-planet-profit can be achieved?

Rules-based order routing (RBOR) has become a useful tool for achieving increased trading efficiency, although it does not automatically guarantee best execution.

The Royal Bank of Canada is appealing a judge’s scathing verdict that it sacked a former trader in London for blowing the whistle on lax compliance, citing a ‘robust compliance culture’.